Bible Society Lebanon organized a children’s trauma healing training and camp in Zahle from 22 to 31 July 2021 in collaboration with the Syriac Orthodox church who also hosted the event.
In 2019, a children’s trauma healing training and camp was scheduled to be done in Zahle; however, the political instability accompanied by road blocks and riots led to their cancellation.
After that, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged and called for extended periods of lock downs that tremendously affected children’s emotional and physical state; many children and young adolescents started experiencing loneliness due to the lack of physical activity with their friends and extended family and the governmental restrictions on being outdoors .
Our Trauma Healing programs aims to help children, who like adults, may be overwhelmed with emotions and not know how to express them in healthy ways and might unknowingly hurt themselves and others in the process. It is bible-based and offers psychological techniques to bring healing through the Word of God.
Twenty participants from Zahle, who already work with children, were nominated by church leaders to enroll in this training to learn how to help young ones express their emotions and realize their value especially to God through Bible stories, scripture engagement and creative games.
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Here is some of the feedback we got from the trainees:
“Although I am a priest and have a rich experience with kids, the training taught me new techniques and increased my knowledge on many topics. The organization and chronological order of the lessons is so clear that children can grasp one objective after another in a very logical and smooth way. I am so excited to start implementing the program next week”
“I always had tendency to sooth children by telling them ‘It’s not a big, deal stop crying’. I learned that using this technique might lead children to think that their feelings are not important. Instead, I can listen to the kid, try to understand the root cause of the tears, let him/her know that crying makes us human, and that it’s totally normal to cry like Jesus did!”
“I learned that there are no negative or wrong emotions. Our feelings are like warning signs that help us deal with certain situations…. It’s so important to pass this idea to the next generation especially for boys who are taught from a very young age that crying is a weakness”
After completing the training, the participants took part in a five-day camp caring for 95 children in order to implement what they had learned.
The kids enjoyed learning and sharing their thoughts on characters from the Bible. At the end of the camp, the organizing team prepared a closing celebration where the children performed songs and plays they learned during the camp. Joy and happiness was evident on the faces of all children. It was an amazing experience and a blessing to both facilitators and kids.
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The Bible Society’s vision is to holistically meet the needs of communities through the transforming Word of God. As a Christian inter-confessional, ecumenical, non-profit organization, it works to spread the Holy Bible’s message and culture to all generations through translating, publishing, and distributing the Scriptures using visual, audio-visual, readable, and digital formats, encouraging people to read and engage with God’s Word, advocating the Bible cause to uphold human dignity, and partnering with all Churches and Christian institutions.
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