CVT International Services works in areas where conflict and torture has resulted in widespread devastation of the community. When political violence intentionally destroys a community, the society itself must heal before peace and democracy can flourish. Healing survivors of torture and war trauma is integral to the process or rebuilding. CVT International Services provides mental health services in an effective, efficient and sustainable manner so that survivors of torture and trauma can resume their life.  CVT targets those communities with high numbers of survivors and few sources of help such as in post conflict or refugee camp situations.  While working directly with survivors, CVT is also helping build the infrastructure to meet the mental health needs beyond the tenure of this project.

CVT International Services objectives include:

• Providing mental health services to refugees, returning refugees and internally displaced people who have suffered torture.
• Training paraprofessionals who act as counselors and advocates, and can be integrated into the community structure, the government health system or national NGOs.
• Working closely with government agencies and nongovernmental organizations to provide training on identifying and working with torture survivors, develop best practices in the field of mental health, and offering referral services to other organizations.
• Rebuilding society and developing civil leadership through capacity building initiatives.

EFFECTS OF TORTURE

CVT knows from more than 20 years experience in torture rehabilitation that the effects of torture can lead to multiple disabling conditions that interfere with even the most basic daily life functions. Survivors can experience insomnia, severe depression, nightmares, panic attacks, self-hatred, and suicidal thoughts or tendencies. The most common diagnoses include posttraumatic stress disorder, major depression disorder, and a combination of both disorders. Without help, survivors are unable to resume normal activities or participate in the rebuilding of their community

CVT International Services recognizes that a person who has once been traumatized is more likely to be traumatized by other challenging events; a refugee who was once tortured or otherwise severely violated and forced to flee is more likely to dissociate during the time of another hardship, suffer from flashback and hyper-arousal and experience depressive and anxiety symptoms afterward.  

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

A regional war, with its roots in the 1994 Rwandan genocide, raged in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) from 1998 to 2003.  Residents of Katanga province (in the southeast part of the country) suffered extreme levels of violence, even after the official end of the war. Reports document beatings, disappearances, extortion and arbitrary detention and torture, including high rates of sexual torture among men, women and children.

In September 2006, CVT announced it will open offices in the provincial capital of Katanga, Lubumbashi, by the end of 2006. A second site located in the interior of the province will open in early 2007.  Funding for CVT’s work in the DRC is from the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and migration and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

WEST AFRICA

For more than a decade, brutal civil wars in Sierra Leone and Liberia killed thousands of people and forced millions to flee. CVT initially provided services to these refugees in camps in Guinea during the conflicts. Now Sierra Leone and Liberia have stabilized, refugees have returned and are rebuilding, CVT International Services works in the communities to provide services to returnees who suffered the effects of torture and war trauma.

CVT West Africa is primarily funded by the U.S. State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, the UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture and the U.S. Agency for International Development. Additional funding comes from other donors, including UNICEF and WITNESS Program.

For more information on the West Africa program, download this fact sheet, Healing in West Africa. (PDF)

The New Tactics notebook Rebuilding Communities describes the CVT training model used in refugee camps in Guinea and Sierra Leone. This notebook gives tactical ideas on helping witnesses or victims of human rights atrocities rebuild their lives.

RESULTS

Regular follow-up assessments with clients in West Africa have shown dramatic improvements, including reducing depression, anxiety, and somatic symptoms and increasing the number of supportive relationships. Clients consistently report having increased hope and better relations with others after receiving help from CVT.

CVT will conduct vigorous evaluation with clients in the DRC when it begins services to survivors.