In late April this year, some of our wonderful staff were given the opportunity to go to Maisha Mapya Center in Nakuru West to attend a training seminar on ‘Advanced Trauma Competent Caregiving’. The training was facilitated by a USA based group known as ‘Trauma Free World’.
Over the three days, we were taken through an intensive training on trauma and its effects on the brain, wellbeing and behavior of a child. We also given alternative methods of helping the children heal from their trauma.
The training was broken down into nine modules covered in detail including:
- Trauma and its effects on the life of a child
- Trauma’s impact on child development
- Adverse Childhood experiences(ACE’s), Positive childhood experiences(PCE’s) and resilience
- Understanding the impact of trauma and maximizing felt safety
- Reducing overwhelming emotions
- Reducing difficult behaviors
- Supporting healthy relationships
- Developing strength-based life stories
- Practicing self-care
Some of these areas were refreshers for skills and training that our staff are already well-versed in, but there were also some wonderful opportunities to learn new ways of working with and reducing trauma. This training also focused on caregivers and the importance of self care and supporting healthy relationships.
It was great for our staff to move out of their comfort zone and learn new ways to connect with and help the children we serve. It was also our pleasure to educate the trainers and other teachers/caregivers in attendance on the effectiveness of Play Therapy which is our focus at Rafiki Mwema. There was also a lot of networking with other caregivers from other centers, the majority of whom were teachers, which meant our staff connected and understood each other’s points of view quite well.
Our dedicated staff would love to pass their sincere gratitude to Sarah and the entire administrative team both in Australia and in Kenya for the opportunity for them to learn and better themselves.
