Victims of Conflict Counselling

A Nepali initiative providing psychosocial counselling to conflict victims, partly by training members of its partner organisations to provide the service. The initiative has set up a special fund to ensure sustainability of the provision of counselling.

Description

Sahara Paramarsha Kendra (SPK) run the Victims of Conflict Counselling initiative to provide counselling services to conflict victims and to establish counselling centres.

The Maoist conflict has victimised people in various ways, such as physical and mental disturbance, family disintegration, death of family members (making children orphans and women widows), and loss of property. These different impacts of the conflict create victims in serious need of psychological counselling to resume a normal life. Taking this into account, SPK has developed this initiative to support the conflict victims and to support the current peace process.

Aims / Objectives

How it is Articulated

SPK has implemented the initiative by conducting the following activities in this order:

SPK has implemented these activities to develop the capacity of psychological counsellors to provide counselling effectively. SPK has also directly provided counselling services to the victims.

In addition to this, SPK has established the Revolving Fund to sustainably support its partner organisations in providing counselling services after the initiative has finished. The Revolving Fund will provide a basic amount of money to run the counselling services.

Achievements / Learning Points

SPK has trained 60 people from its 60 partner CBOs/NGOs working in the field of conflict throughout the nation. Further, it has developed these 60 partner organisations as counselling centres. SPK has developed a fully-equipped counselling centre in Kathmandu for conflict victims and is planning to establish another three counselling centres outside of Kathmandu.

SPK has learnt that psychosocial counselling is one of the major needs of victims of conflict in the post-conflict peace-building process, alongside issues of economic rehabilitation, social rehabilitation (for example, family reunion), reintegration of ex-combatants into society, and psychological treatment for traumatised conflict victims.

Geographical Area of Operation

Kathmandu, Biratnagar, Pokhara, Nepalgunj.

Funding Resources

United States Agency for International Development.

Organisations Involved

60 partner organizations: