Project in Sri Lanka
"Can you stop the shooting?"
The woman looks at us with tired eyes. Shooting has gone on for ages and she desperately wants it to stop.
"No, we cannot stop the shooting", we reply. "....but we can help you to relax in between the shooting."
She steps forward and says: "Then come!".
We are sitting on the floor of the pre-school in one of the villages of displaced persons, to see if we could develop a program for trauma healing in the North and East of Sri Lanka.
Sewalanka Foundation, one of the largest development NGO's in Sri Lanka has consulted Meth Medura to see what could be done to heal the wounds of war.
Sewalanka's work has become increasingly hampered by the repeated displacements caused by the civil war, and the effect of those on the villagers.
Meth Medura focuses her research and therapeutic work on the effects of trauma and developed the integrated Pansori Approach to work with traumatic events on a communal level.
It is an integrated program built on four pillars:
- The physical aspect, directed at balancing the body
- The emotional aspect, related to strengthening the identity
- The mental aspect, aiming at healing the memories
- The spiritual and social aspect, re-connecting to the roots
Sewalanka is one of the first development organizations, which has taken the challenge to combine development work, trauma healing and peace work.
For more information about the project see: www.methmedura.org.
Link: www.sewalanka.org.
