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Sub-Saharan Africa

Trauma-Relief and Resiliency Building Across the Continent

Trauma Relief and Resiliency Building in Sub-Saharan Africa

 

Sub-Saharan Africa faces intersecting challenges—from armed conflict and displacement to rising climate-related threats and instability. In many regions, ongoing crises have led to deep and widespread trauma. People are grieving loved ones, grappling with economic hardship, and living in conditions of uncertainty and fear.

Since 2016, we’ve helped communities heal by teaching practical, sustainable mind-body medicine techniques that relieve trauma and build lasting resilience. What began in South Sudan has now grown to include communities in Mozambique, Kenya, Uganda, Sudan, Cameroon, and beyond.

Africa is the fastest-growing continent by population, and Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, is experiencing intensifying political instability, humanitarian crises, and violence, exacerbated by climate pressures like drought, food insecurity, and forced migration.

The result is a pervasive sense of loss and despair. Some turn to alcohol to numb the pain; others resort to violence. Many withdraw into isolation, and communities are losing loved ones not just to war or hunger, but to depression, suicide, and hopelessness.

Our Work

Program Update
In November 2024 and in partnership with the Roots of South Sudan and Hwinzo Retreat, Faculty member Anyieth D’Awol, was joined by our Clinical Director Lynda Richtsmeier Cyr, Associate Director for International Programs Andrew Leone, and Senior Faculty Jane Reilly to hold back-to-back Professional Training and Advanced Training Programs in Tofo, Mozambique.

The 26 participants included human rights advocates, community organizers, healthcare workers, journalists, artists, and educators from Mozambique, Kenya, Sudan, South Sudan, and Uganda. Many had been displaced or directly impacted by violence in the region. Despite these challenges, they made the journey to Tofo where they experienced a safe, supportive environment and enjoyed the town’s natural beauty.

Over two weeks of immersive learning, participants practiced techniques like soft belly breathing, expressive drawing, guided imagery, and mindful movement. In the safety of the groups, they shared their stories, supported one another, and began the process of personal and collective healing.

(L) Lynda, leading her small  group in an exercise   in Tofo, Mozambique
(R) Mozambique  participants during expressive meditation

Since completing their training, participants have returned to their home countries, bringing the mind-body medicine techniques they learned to their communities. Their impact has rippled outward, including:

  • Monthly workshop training for 50 women artisans in South Sudan
  • One day workshop for 90 children, teenagers and staff at the St. Claire Orphanage, Jondoro, Juba, South Sudan.
  • A one-day Trauma Relief and Resilience Building workshop for 27 Sudanese refugees at Bweyale Camp also known as Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Bweyale, Uganda
  • Two eight-week groups in Kampala, Uganda. One was facilitated for Sudanese refugees and one held at a church compound for South Sudanese.
  • A workshop in Tofo market in Tofo, Mozambique for high school students, artisans, fishermen, and vendors
  • Workshop for psychology students and regular self-care sessions with staff in Infulane Hospital, Maputo, Mozambique.
Children and staff from St. Claire Orphanage in Juba South Sudan after a workshop led by Mozambique Training graduates Malish Bullen, Julia Onyoti, Tap Badeng and online ATP graduate, Vaida Dudu.
Mozambique Training graduates Hamza Ali (Castro) and Abuelgasim (Gasim) Awadalla leading the Trauma Relief and Resilience Building workshop in Bweyale camp (Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement) , Uganda.
Church members from the first in-person group in Kampala, Uganda led by CMBM Mozambique Training graduate Daud Gideon Yellewa and co-facilitated by Certified Alumni Given Ochen.
Workshop in Tofo market led by Mozambique Training graduates Ana Simango and Evaristo Mabote.

Most recently, in collaboration with partners including UCLA, D-SINE Africa, and the Higher Institute of Technology, we started working in Douala, Cameroon as part of the initiative, Harnessing Data Science to Promote Equity in Injury and Surgery in Africa.

Led by Dr. Linda Metayer, CMBM Faculty and Haiti Country Director, and Andrew Leone, the team held trauma healing workshops with traditional healers, hospital personnel, and patients recovering from violent trauma. Participants practiced core techniques like soft belly breathing, guided imagery, drawing, and shaking and dancing to process trauma and reclaim calm.

Two weeks after the in-person workshops, Dr. Metayer led a series of virtual follow-ups to assess the impact of the workshops and guide a possible future expansion of CMBM’s work in Cameroon.

 

people standing in a circle with hands joined
L) Dr. Metayer (center) leading a workshop for patients who suffered physical trauma
(R) Dr. Metayer and Dr. Fanny Nadia Delon (center) with traditional healers and staff from CMBM and D-SINE.

How Our Work in Sub-Saharan Africa Began

In 2016, Anyieth D’Awol came to CMBM after living through the traumas of war. Inspired by our program and the healing power of mind-body medicine, she returned home with a mission to bring tools of self-awareness, self-care, and group support to her community.

Our Founder and CEO James S. Gordon, MD and former Program Director Musarrat Al-Azzeh joined Anyieth in South Sudan. They created a workshop that included members of warring parties coming together to create a pre-transitional government. They were also joined by leaders from the Women’s Union, Ministry of Health, Juba Teaching Hospital and Military Hospital, local and international nonprofits, and the local government.

 

In 2018, Anyieth and other CMBM faculty led a Professional Training Program (PTP) in Tofo, Mozambique for about 25 participants. This activity helped provide the foundation for the more recent PTP and ATP trainings and expansion of the Center’s work in Africa.
(photo below is from 2018)

 

Anyieth D’Awol sharing in a session with former Sr. Faculty Sabrina N’daiye during the 2018 PTP in Tofo, Mozambique.

Looking Ahead

The work in Sub-Saharan Africa continues to grow—led by local leaders, supported by local and international partners, and guided by our model of self-care, group support, and shared healing. From South Sudan to Mozambique to Uganda and Cameroon, those who have trained with us are now becoming teachers and facilitators themselves, creating lasting change in their communities. We are committed to deepening this work, expanding our reach, and continuing to support those most affected by trauma.

 

“I got rid of the torments of war, displacement, and homelessness that I experienced in Sudan through breathing exercises and music and relieving all my problems by sharing them with groups. I received peace, tolerance, and love.”

— Mozambique Training Graduate

“The most valuable experience was meeting people from different cultures, realities, and carrying a lot of trauma, coming up together and becom[ing] one family, being nurtured by an amazing tutor.” 

— Ana Simango, Inhambane, Mozambiquee

“I feel so relieved. I learned skills that can help calm stress in myself and my patients.  The program should be made available to a lot of people out there who are suffering with mental health problems.” 

— Doris Atali, nurse, Cameroon workshop participant

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