Monrovia – The Ecumenical Women Organization (EWO) of the Liberia Council of Churches has established a walk-in psychosocial clinic at the LCC’s head offices in Monrovia’s Sinkor suburb in order to treat emotional and psychological trauma in the society.
According to the LCC women, the mobile clinic is solely intended to provide counseling and other forms of medical care for people in the country.
The psychosocial based program is to provide education, training and support to victims of Illicit and harmful drugs [users], sexual and domestic based violence including rape, prostitution, Teen-pregnancy, amongst others.
The Liberia Council of Churches seriously considers the treatment of emotional and psychological trauma as a serious post-war imperative of the country.
The Council is of the view that sexual and emotional abuse, physical and verbal abuse, financial abuse, physical and emotional neglect, intense exposure to poverty and domestic violence, utilization of illicit drugs and other forms of harmful substances, amongst others, are the order of daily life in the country.
The Liberia council of Churches asserts that “another cause of emotional and/or psychological trauma is the diagnosis of a mental or psychiatric illness, which can deeply impair an individual’s emotional and psychological well-being.
All of these causes can affect an individual in ways that interrupt or interfere with his or her daily functioning”.
This is why the churches are working assiduously to help treat emotional and psychological trauma in the country if the country must have useful citizens to participate in its development and progress.
As a part of the activities leading to the establishment of the walk-in psychosocial clinic, the Ecumenical Women Organization of the LCC has concluded a two-day discussion on basic counseling, community awareness and advocacy, project proposal writing and others for member-churches volunteering to participate in the project both in the treatment and advocacy phases.
EWO President, Gloria Hage said the objective is to reach out in providing counseling and other form of medical services to people of all sectors of the Liberian society.
She disclosed that the training is necessary to prepare their members to support this project and encourage the various women organizations of the LCC of the usage of the walk-in clinic through serving as actors in community awareness and advocacy in order to rescue the threatened youth spices of the country especially from the use of illicit drugs and other harmful substances
Madam Hage added that so far this project is solely supported by the LCC and there is a need for local and international partners to support the program.
For her part, the First Vice President of the EWO, Alfrieda Parker said the dream of this project was realized as a result of the mandate for which, the EWO of the LCC was established.
According to her, the participants were drawn from the member-churches of the LCC and expressed the hope that women of other denominations, non-Christians and people of all races and nationalities can take advantage of the medication offer by the center.
There were more than 60 participants from the Salvation Army, the Liberia Baptist and Educational Convention, the Catholic Church, the AME Church, United Methodist Church, the AME Zion Church, Apostolic Pentecostal Church, Concerned Christian Community, among others.
The Good Governance Commission of the Liberia Council of Churches will lead the advocacy component of the campaign in order to increase public awareness and action on SGBV, rape, teen pregnancy, prostitution, illicit drugs uses and other forms of harmful substances, amongst others.
Meanwhile, the Liberia Council of Churches seeks closer collaboration with the relevant government agencies including the Ministry of Gender, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry of Education and Drugs Enforcement Agency (DEA), amongst others in order to ensure the success of this campaign