BY JEFFREY TAFOLEHE
INCREASING domestic violence in Solomon Islands is being blamed for the rise in the number of women and children seeking shelter in a care-centre in Honiara.
Known to be the only centre or home for victims of domestic violence in Solomon Islands, Christian Care Centre (CCC) is looked after by the Sisters of the Church.
Recently one of the representatives of CCC attended a workshop on trauma counseling. When the Solomon Women Newspaper caught up with her, she shared her views on the training and its significance to her work caring for victims of violence and other forms of abuse.
Solomon Women Newspaper (SWN): Brief background on yourself.
Ruth Hope (RH): I am Ruth Hope of the Community of the Sisters of the church. I am the coordinator of Christian Care Centre. Our work is to help victims of violence. This Christian Care Centre is the only safe home in the Solomon Islands for victims of violence. The Sisters of the church looks after this Care Centre. We do counselling for women and children affected by violence inside homes. Basically we provide shelter, basic needs such as food and clothing. We also provide clothing for babies when pregnant mothers seek shelter at the center. We also provide spiritual advice to victims. Some victims came to us with broken hands, legs and in walking stick. Others came with face swollen and can’t see properly. We put ourselves in their shoes and try to empower them to rise up. We show love, care, kindness and kind words to make them feel at home. We also make them to feel they are important.
SWN: Why do you attend the workshop?
RH: This workshop is really helpful for our work at the care Center to know the signs and symptoms shown by victims of violence who usually come to us. What we have learned here will help us to identify their problems and attend to their needs as caregivers. It also help us to identify people who are traumatized or in the process. Sometimes people mistook victims as being possessed when they are in fact being traumatized. This workshop actually helped us to gain more deep understanding of our work to help mothers, young girls and children.
SWN: What do you see as important through this workshop?
RH: The importance of this workshop is for me to have a heart to help people in need. Also I must be healed first in order to help others to heal their broken wounds and hearts who seek help from me. It helped me to relook at my life first before looking at my neighbor.
SWN: Can you give a brief reflection on what you have learned in this workshop?
RH: To me what this workshop mean is, this work is my mission and ministry God has graced me to function in therefore it is very meaningful for me when I help God’s people.
SWN: What are some of the challenges faced in dealing with issue of trauma?
RH: The challenges we faced are usually when traumatized mothers came to us for help, we always thought they are possessed. So we pray for them. When realizing this we change our approach to counselling first before praying for them.
SWN: What is your number one goal you plan to achieve from the knowledge you gain from this workshop?
RH: One of my goals after this workshop is to know how to handle victims of trauma and provide help and support that can heal my patient and change their state in life. When I return after the training, I will gather all my staff and teach them what I learn to apply this knowledge to enhance our work in helping victims of violence in our centre.
SWN: Is there anything you wish to share to our readers who wish to get into such workshop?
RH: This work is for every church and every individuals and leaders; we must all help to do this work to help our young youths, women and children in our country.
