The world now has the highest number of refugees ever and is in the middle of a humanitarian crisis. Efforts to help refugees lead successful lives and reintegrate into society has failed to address the tremendous psychological effects of witnessing, or being subject to, horrendous acts of violence. We are now witnessing yet another generation growing up knowing nothing but terror. We must act now to address this issue and stop the perpetuation of violence into future generations.
Boko Haram is the deadliest terrorist organization in the world, and has displaced over 2 million people. 54% of these are children, many of whom have witnessed unimaginable terror. These children are often further victimized by the poverty of displacement. Many become socially isolated and engage in self-destructive behavior including drug & alcohol abuse, and violence. Unless we address the emotional trauma, we will continue to see the perpetuation of terrorism into future generations.
Through various forms of art, children learn to express their feelings and how to create a bright future free of conflict. Through ongoing observation and formal assessment, children needing emotional help are identified and assisted. Parents also attend these events, and volunteers meet individually and in groups with them to discuss strategies for creating emotionally safe and stable environments at home, as well as strategies for providing support for children whose parents have died
Our goal is to directly intervene in the lives of 100,000 people over the next 10 years and help them to stop the cycle of violence from affecting their children, neighbors, and community. In this way the program will fundamentally change the lives of millions of people.
This project has provided additional documentation in a DOCX file (projdoc.docx).
