Turning their lemons into lemonades
How our trauma healing programme is restoring hope to thousands across the nation
People don’t choose troubles, troubles choose people. This, unfortunately, is the harsh reality of human existence that has led many, who life did visit with its many troubles, to the point of depression, hopelessness, extreme emotional breakdown and in many cases, suicide. For many, the warped challenges that life brings their way has led them to live their lives with seething anger, frustration, hatred, transferred aggression, vengeance, violence, and indeed all manner of vices. The World Health Organization (WHO) once reported that Nigeria recorded the highest rate of suicide and depression among African countries, and ranked sixth in the global index at 9.5% out of 100,000 people.1 This gives a serious cause for concern, a cause that the Bible Society of Nigeria has taken up to passionately address with the formulation of its Trauma Healing programme.
Since 2015, the BSN strategic trauma healing sessions have been addressing the spiritual, emotional and psychological needs of traumatised people all over Nigeria who are under emotional pains or shock particularly those whose bodies and souls have been etched with pain as a result of violence, crimes, moral decadence, war, natural disasters, domestic abuse, etc. which has lasting harmful psychological effect, anxiety and unpleasant experience in their lives.
Our goal at The Bible Society of Nigeria is to turn the lemons hurled at these victims of life’s circumstances into lemonades by assuaging their fears and making them feel that they are not alone at their trying moments. We also partner with church leaders to help traumatized people in their congregation and especially the Christians in the Northern part of Nigeria who are living in fear of uncertainty, the family of kidnapped victims in the South-Eastern region who are waiting endlessly for their loved ones to return to them or who are running helter-skelter looking for money to pay as ransom, the abused children all over the country; and as many people that can be identified as possible.
Our Trauma Healing training sessions for trauma counsellors are being facilitated by renowned experts. From left is Marie Brianna Leiendecker and Ki Gueneba Bakiono, both of the Trauma Healing Institute of the American Bible Society, Philadelphia, USA.
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