OVER 2000 YOUTHS IN KWALE BENEFITES FROM TRAUM HEALING.
Hope of life for depressed youths in Kwale.
By Caroline Katana.
.22.9.23
Over 2000 youths in Kwale county benefited from trauma healing sessions to enhance mental wellbeing through a project dubbed as Kumekucha Quest
Kumekucha is a swahili word meaning "a new dawn. Kumekucha Quest project is famously described as A new Dawn for Hope and Connections.
The 27 months pilot project implemented in Kenya through The Green String Network ,Sambasports Youths Agenda Organisation is funded by The Grand challenges Canada
The KQ project target youths, teenagers and children, with a view of inspiring self awareness, self -acceptance, hope ,community care and relational Wellbeing.
The KQ project started on 2021 following increasing cases of suicide, insecurities and drugs were high among youth in the region.
Kumekucha Quest project officer Mwanaisha Kuwania affirmed At least 10 cases of suicide were recorded between 2022 and 2023.
" A total of 18 youths were trained as trainers of trainees and facilitators to conduct the healing centered well being sessions which positively engaged 18 circles of 15 youths each taking them through at least 12 continuous of community care and relational Wellbeing dialogues," Noted Ms. Kuwania.
The project officer confirmed the value based education trainings and 12 weeks of healing center sessions, songs, story telling to bring hope and forgiveness among youths.
“The project’s objectives were to empower children, adolescents and youth with skills, aptitude and facilitating attitude to cope with stressors and swim in the warmth of community care, relation-wellbeing and emotional regulation for them to thrive amidst a world full of stress and trauma,” she said.
Kuwania said a large number of youth have changed and embraced positive and healthy lifestyles since they enrolled in the program.
"We sourced the youth from maskanis (Street bases), prisons and several schools in Waa, Tiwi, Ukunda and Diani within the county and few from Likoni ,Mombasa county ,"She said.
Kumekucha is a swahili word meaning "a new dawn. Kumekucha Quest project is famously described as A new Dawn for Hope and Connections.
The 27 months pilot project implemented in Kenya through The Green String Network ,Sambasports Youths Agenda Organisation is funded by The Grand challenges Canada
The KQ project target youths, teenagers and children, with a view of inspiring self awareness, self -acceptance, hope ,community care and relational Wellbeing.
The KQ project started on 2021 following increasing cases of suicide, insecurities and drugs were high among youth in the region.
Kumekucha Quest project officer Mwanaisha Kuwania affirmed At least 10 cases of suicide were recorded between 2022 and 2023.
" A total of 18 youths were trained as trainers of trainees and facilitators to conduct the healing centered well being sessions which positively engaged 18 circles of 15 youths each taking them through at least 12 continuous of community care and relational Wellbeing dialogues," Noted Ms. Kuwania.
The project officer confirmed the value based education trainings and 12 weeks of healing center sessions, songs, story telling to bring hope and forgiveness among youths.
“The project’s objectives were to empower children, adolescents and youth with skills, aptitude and facilitating attitude to cope with stressors and swim in the warmth of community care, relation-wellbeing and emotional regulation for them to thrive amidst a world full of stress and trauma,” she said.
Kuwania said a large number of youth have changed and embraced positive and healthy lifestyles since they enrolled in the program.
"We sourced the youth from maskanis (Street bases), prisons and several schools in Waa, Tiwi, Ukunda and Diani within the county and few from Likoni ,Mombasa county ,"She said.
She confirmed the program to have transformed 30 prison officers and 43 inmates from Kwale GOK.
"They adopted a new positive attitude towards their day-to-day affairs, flickered hope and forgiveness prisons are normally widely perceived to be center's of desperation, hopelessness, emotions and vengeance, "Noted Ms .Kuwania.
The project officer said the program has helped many children, adolescents and youth embrace change and renew hope assisted in propelling their healing journey.
Kuwania said many youths have now moved to be entrepreneurs and run various self-income generating activities while school dropouts went back to school.
“We had students and youth who had given up, they didn’t see the reason to continue learning and some wanted to commit suicide because of life challenges, unemployment and high cost of living,” she said.
Samba Sports Youth Agenda CEO..Mohammed Mwachausa.
CEO Samba sports youth Agenda Mohammed Mwachausa said the project changed the notion of associating mental health disorder with witchcraft.
"Society has been associating mental health disorder with witchcraft or curse due to lack of knowledge on how to counter but through this project perceptions has completely changed, youth has skills of overcoming depression and trauma unlike before ,"Said Mr. Mwachausa.
The CEO said the KQ has reversed the trend and provided safe spaces for youth and community to resolve conflict peacefully.
“Our youth have learned new positive ways of settling their differences unlike before when they believed in violence,” he said.
He said the youth have gained self-control and anger management skills as well as improving their reconciliation methods.
Some of the testimonies by the participation include:
"I used to be a very irritable person, ready to attack anyone or revenge people who attacked me ,there and then .However through the healing centred sessions and lessons from KQ I have learnt how to manage my anger and it has given me so much tranquility, including my physiological health "
"Knowing my moods when I wake up ,like, mad, sad,glad or afraid, has been a key revolution for me and it makes me seek help when I need it and I have been able to help my friends too when I noticed them .These sessions have been a blessing for me ."
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