Towards peace of mind

War Trauma Foundation is proud to announce the publication of new training material for its projects in Burundi and D.R. Congo. The title of this material is:  “Collective Healing: a social action approach, supplement to support sustainable use of Narrative Theatre” by Dr. Y. Sliep. Over the past year five trainers of Centre Ubuntu, the local partner of WTF, and Dr Y. Sliep developed supplementary training material on narrative theatre. This new material is a next step in the Narrative theatre methodology and is aimed at capacity building of the local committees. These local committees play a crucial role in the narrative theatre meetings in the communities and in monitoring the progress made.

Narrative theatre is a creative methodology developed within the specific local and cultural context of the Great Lake Region by Dr. Yvonne Sliep (University of KwaZulu Natal, trainer War Trauma Foundation). This methodology enhances dialogue and problem solving in communities where traditional methods of resolving issues have been disrupted due to conflict, and addresses emerging challenges that require an adjusted approach to a new, post conflict reality. Through narrative theatre, opportunities are created for people to meet and explore their problems together (such as domestic/sexual abuse, theft, mistrust, poverty, etc), to exchange stories and feelings, and to share their experiences from different perspectives. They can experiment with different solutions for specific problems and decide how to move forward collectively. This method allows for recognition and inclusion of groups who are marginalised or vulnerable, for a peaceful method of exploring very difficult issues, and helps to contribute to stability and the restoration of trust and positive, functional relationships in communities exposed to tragedy, loss and violence.The Burundian NGO Centre Ubuntu started applying the narrative theatre approach in its field work in 2005. Local facilitators and community workers have been trained in facilitating narrative theatre in local communities. Each local community that works with narrative theatre sets up a local committee with elected members, that are responsible for the follow up of the narrative theatre session and also serves as a local point for the community.  Focused on restoring social capital and trust, narrative theatre contributes to peace building and non-violent conflict resolution, thereby strengthening communities.

Over the years the Narrative theatre method has evolved through the experiences that were gained by applying the method in communities. In 2009 the first manual, ‘Healing communities by strengthening social capital: a narrative theatre approach; training facilitators and community workers’ (Y. Sliep, 2009)’ was published. Soon there was a high demand for new additional material especially on training and capacity building of local committees. Five trainers of Centre Ubuntu, under the supervision of Dr. Y Sliep identified the specific needs to produce this material. Where Dr. Sliep was responsible for the overall theoretical framework, the trainers developed a training module on five main topics that were chosen. These topics are: Ubuntu Values, Conflict resolution and Mediation, Trauma, Development, & Leadership. With the publication of this material a next step is taken in ensuring the sustainability of the narrative theatre methodology.

The trainer/author Yvonne Sliep stresses the importance of the training material in the process of healing in Burundi. “Already in 400BC Hippocrates said: “Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.”. Through Narrative theatre opportunity is created for collective healing in local communities. Over time this community based strategy has evolved and has been refined to strengthen social fabric and to continue the process of healing. We hope that the materials developed in and for Burundi will inspire others to work in partnership with communities towards more comprehensive healing. During the project one thing has stood out for me ‘Healing is not an event, it is a process done with the support of many’.

An important element in the project was the capacity building process for the five trainers of Centre Ubuntu. During the writing process the trainers have been challenged to develop training material on five new topics and to articulate their field experience in trainings in writing. The writing process has been a group challenge given the differences in vocational background and limited time available. The results are five training modules and a case study, developed for the Burundian context and culture. To improve the accessibility the training material is available in both Kirundi and English.

The supplement can soon be downloaded free of cost on this website together with the training modules, or purchased as a hard copy, from the War Trauma Foundation: info@wartrauma.nl.

The publication of this training material was possible due to the financial support of  ’Innovatiefonds Zorgverzekeraars’ and Cordaid.