Hawa Feminist Coalition

Hawa Feminist Coalition Concludes Mental and Psychological Support Training and Mentorship for 50 Young Women Volunteers in Qardho, Somalia

Hawa Feminist Coalition concludes a weeklong training, mentorship, and coaching for 50 young women volunteers on mental health and psychological support skills to provide mental health and psychological support for the survivors of gender-based violence suffering from mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in Qardho, Puntland, Somalia.

 

This training, which was conducted for 50 young women volunteers whose ages were between 18 and 30, held in Qardho, Puntland, Somalia, was facilitated by a professional and experienced expert on mental health and psychological support. The training consisted of three days of training and three days of mentorship and coaching, during which the trainees were practically trained in providing mental health and psychological support to the survivors of gender-based violence suffering from mental illnesses. The reason for combining these approaches is to solidify the trainees’ skills and practical experience, as well as their effectiveness in providing the most effective mental health and psychological support for survivors of mental illnesses in their communities.

This training was held for young women volunteers on mental health and psychological support as a result of the prolonged conflict in Somalia and the worsening effects of climate change, which have uprooted about 2.9 million people from their homes across the country. Another 760,000 people have also been displaced since 2021 due to a devastating drought. The women and girls from the displaced people are facing the highest and most alarming gender-based violence (GBV), such as rape, sexual harassment, domestic violence, child abuse, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation (FGM), while the services available for survivors of gender-based violence experiencing mental disorders such as severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are limited and inexistent in the areas inhabited by the drought-displaced communities in Somalia.

The training was held in the Qardho district, a city that accommodates a significant number of drought-displaced individuals and protracted displaced communities from South and Central Somalia. There is a higher prevalence of survivors of gender-based violence suffering from mental illnesses including depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder in Qardho. We expect the trained young women volunteers to offer mental health and psychological support to these survivors, and to enhance the services available for survivors of gender-based violence grappling with mental disorders like severe depression and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in the Qardho district of Somalia.

 

Hawa Feminist Coalition’s long-term strategy is to contribute to the prioritization and inclusion of strengthening local healthcare systems in Somalia’s climate response plans and strategies, particularly providing proper and long-lasting mental health and psychosocial support services for survivors of gender-based violence from the drought-displaced communities. Along with this project, Hawa Feminist Coalition runs other projects aimed at preventing the factors contributing to an increase in mental health problems among displaced communities in Somalia, such as the prevalent gender-based violence.