House of Hope - Trauma and Reconciliation: Mental Health in The Gambia

The project "House of Hope - Trauma and Reconciliation: Mental Health in The Gambia" aims to create a therapy service for traumatised persons and thereby contribute to the peace and reconciliation process in The Gambia. The fka is the project executing agency; the implementing organisation and grant recipient is the local NGO "No Health without Mental Health" (NHMH). 

Gambian society experienced 22 years of dictatorship and was exposed to violence, torture and arbitrary arrests during this time. The resulting traumatisation still has an impact on coexistence today. Urgently needed, freely accessible psychotherapeutic treatment options are lacking in the country, as is social knowledge about trauma and its consequences. In the project, we want to lay the foundation for a Mental Health Centre (MHC) where people can receive free trauma treatment. The aim is to close the gap between what is available and what is needed in the long term. 

The new project will benefit from the experience of the House of Hope in Dakar, an MHC set up by the fka in Senegal. In February and July, three-week training sessions will take place in The Gambia, in which Senegalese master counsellors will pass on their knowledge of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) - a narrative treatment method for dealing with trauma. Together with NHMH, 30 trainers will be trained in the NET method and enabled to treat traumatised persons. 10 of the trainers will be accompanied in their work for six months and receive supervision. The goal is to reach a total of 200 clients during this time. 

In addition to trauma treatment, the project also aims to raise social awareness of mental health issues and reintegrate traumatised people. With intensive public relations work and networking, we want to create awareness for the role of mental health in the context of the reprocessing and reconciliation process. Relevant information will be more easily accessible, thus counteracting the stigmatisation of mental illness. At the same time, the issue will become more prominent in the awareness of the population. People with mental health challenges are encouraged to seek help. By also addressing people in the Gambian health sector, we hope to achieve long-term and, above all, equal access to mental health services.

The role of the fka in all this is that of a supporter and intermediary between the local organisation NHMH and the funder, the Schmitz Foundation. We forward the funding directly to The Gambia and it benefits the work on the ground in its entirety. 25% of the project expenses have to be borne by NHMH itself. Since the available funds are very scarce, we want to help reduce the own contribution with our request for support.