We support Post-conflict Peace Building efforts

Support to Survivors of Amputation. 'An end to intolerance’ and war and building peace, love, forgiveness, reconciliation and hope with victims of amputation. B-Gifted hosted a series of workshops on forgiveness peace, forgiveness and reconciliation at the Oslo Amputee Camps, The Four Mile Amputee camps and Waterloo amputee camps in the country.

During Sierra Leone's civil war, mass amputation was used as a weapon of war. The amputation of civilians strongly portrays the long years of fighting in Sierra Leone. During the war, terror tactics was physical mutilation. Although there are as yet no reliable statistics, an estimated 20,000 civilians suffered amputation, with machetes and axes being used to sever arms, legs, lips and ears. Villages were often destroyed and most civilians killed and others were mutilated and sent to neighboring villages as a warning.  

B-Gifted is  helping these communities re- build and enhance self-esteem and body image reconstruction. Through the project, men and women showed a clear relief of the symptoms related to their traumatic condition as amputation survivals and have more communication tools to participate in the creation of a peaceful and inclusive community. The Children of the healing/educational group participants also benefited from the new psychological state of their parents. B-Gifted carried out further activities such as storytelling and sharing, meditation, prayers, games, music and drama. During the workshops and training, participants, were also formed in groups for group interventions. There were also Individual Trauma Healing carried out, Dynamic’s building, easing of trauma situations, related to physical and emotional symptoms, Stages of Trauma Healing, Body Trauma Catharsis, Body image and self-esteem, addressing Grief, Loss and Acceptation, Social Healing and Conflict Prevention and through forgiveness understanding and preventing the repetitive cycle of violence. Participants ensured a year of reconciliation and social healing through peace building practices and positive ways to communicate, synergies and contacts with the community and a year follow-up and field activities and peace training helped to enhance the ability of the victims to participate in the creation of a peaceful and inclusive community.

SUPPORT TO SURVIVORS OF AMPUTATION- MAKENI SIERRA LEONE (Workshops)

DALILA PAOLO, FROM KOR NGO IN LISBON, CO-HOSTING A WORKSHOP - SUPPORT OF SURVIVORS OF AMPUTATION IN MAKENI, NORTHERN SIERRA LEONE. CO-HOSTING FROM B-GIFTED ARE ANDREW BENSON GREENE, AHMED MUSA SOWA, ABASS VICTOR OSMAN KAMARA

In August of 2010 B-Gifted Foundation made a follow up of our initial visit to the Oslo Amputee camp. Dalila Paolo a Therapeutic Trainer from Lisbon in Portugal co-hosted a workshop entitled ‘Support to Survivors of Amputation’ at the Oslo camp in Makeni, Northern Sierra Leone. The workshop was designed to support the victims of amputation to recover from traumatic experiences of the war and emotions. The workshop was also designed to enhance self esteem and body  image restructuring & create synergies between group participants, The workshop was also further  designed to enhancing the ability to participate in the creation  of a peaceful and inclusive community.

Amputation under an act of war violence and hate has a particular impact on the personal identity of  the victims often causing long-term physiological and psychological disturbances. For this reason,  the workshop’s intervention focused first on providing psychological support in order to help them to  overcome the symptoms related. Through participation in the workshop, the amputees showed a clear  relief of the symptoms to their traumatic condition.  The workshop brought to light the stories of  ordinary people living under the extraordinary consequences of war. This work shop predicated on the assumption that such  interventions and therapy can  effectively communicate and contribute to the discourse of politically-  and emotionally- charged subject matter appropriately and meaningfully.

John Graham, (former US Diplomat) has a personal experience in visiting the survivors of amputation in Sierra Leone's war. 

http://www.giraffe.org/global/giraffe-heroes-sierra-leone