Psychosocial counselling

Psychosocial counselling is a service organized by our Community Support Manager. In 2023, Shelter Them also enlisted the services of a professional psychologist to assist in addressing the mental health needs of our beneficiaries. Shelter Them recognizes the lasting impact of the genocide against Tutsis, which reveals itself in two ways. 

First, counselling provides beneficiaries suffering from mental health issues with coping skills that alleviate trauma due to the impact of the genocide and the resulting poverty. Second, counsellors provide parents with parenting skills that many are missing due to the genocide. Many of the parents of our children were children themselves during the genocide. Many lost parents at that time or had parents who themselves were traumatized by those events. So, counsellors teach parents such skills as effective disciplinary strategies and proper nutrition. And men in the community are encouraged to shoulder more responsibility in the parenting of their children. Counselling is a vital part of the work of Shelter Them to empower our beneficiaries to achieve real and lasting and sustainable change in their lives.

We are already seeing positive results among our beneficiaries, as they begin to open up about their problems and demonstrate a keen willingness to engage in treatment. This service is a tremendous benefit to our children as well, by enabling them to grow and thrive in a stable and supportive environment.