FINDING YOUR INNER STRENGTH: Building Emotional Resilience and Social Cohesion in the Face of Adversity

Our working assumption is that all communities in which we work have experienced loss or trauma. Because of this, we are more likely to achieve our objectives when we take a trauma-sensitive approach. We aim to strengthen the coping skills, resilience, and social cohesion of individuals, partners, and participants. Because staff’s experience often mirrors that of our project participants, this manual is also useful for staff self-care.

 

This manual constitutes the 3rd edition of “Introduction to Trauma Awareness and Resilience (TAR)” and incorporates most of “Rising from Resilient Roots” (last published in 2018 and 2020, respectively). It builds on lessons learned in the application of the TAR curriculum in South Sudan and elsewhere since 2014.

 

Four learning reviews (2016-2023) have confirmed the efficacy of this approach, with staff and community members reporting significant changes in their lives and work following their participation in TAR workshops: Relationships within families and between peer groups improved. Ordinary disagreements and disputes were settled or referred to traditional courts to prevent escalating to violence. Previously idle youth became engaged in productive activities like farming and bee keeping, which prevented them from joining armed groups. Mothers felt less stress in caring for their families, and community leaders grew empowered to exercise their civic duties. Overall, people conducted their social, political, and economic interactions more peacefully and harmoniously.

 

All activities in this manual can be offered in locations without electricity (even under a tree), with very basic training materials that can be found in every office or outside (e.g., small pebbles and sticks). There are 34 activities in total, spanning themes of trauma awareness, resilience, stress management, leadership, and forgiveness. Workshops last for 8 hours, typically spread across two half-days, although a short 3-hour module is available for integration with other programs*. Supplementary activities for follow-up refresher sessions are also provided. Selected activities can also be extracted and used separately. The community members’ training requires no literacy at all, and adaptations to the local context are welcome. Important facilitator guidance is provided in the final section.

 

The MEAL Supplemental Guidance is easy to follow and provides an overview of both monitoring and evaluation approaches, including guidance on light monitoring activities and Most Significant Change.

 

Please let us know what you think or if you have any questions at [email protected].

 

Written by Lucy Y. Steinitz, Ph.D. with the support of David Malual and CRS/South Sudan

 

*Note: To ensure that the training is also gender sensitive and inclusive, see this short checklist.