Gambia: House of Hope Appeals to Victim Centre to End Boycott

5 August 2022

House of Hope - The Gambia working in collaboration with the No Health Without Mental Health - Gambia (NHMH-GM) under the stewardship of Fka has called on The Gambia Centre for Victims of Human Rights Violation to end its boycott of its activities in the interest of victims' healing.

Sanna B. Sabally, country coordinator for House of Hope who was speaking during the graduation ceremony of the 2nd batch of students learning the Psychotherapy NET-Therapy held at Bijilo, said Victim Centre has been boycotting their trainings and also rejected their offer to help victims with healings.

The project is aimed at offering trauma spectrum treatment and has since its inception trained personnel from various walks of life.

Mr. Sabally therefore appealed to the management of Victims Centre to join hands with them in healing victims by training personnel from the Centre, adding that they are more concerned about victims and traumatised people.

"Some victims are suffering. They are traumatised and definitely need help. We offered to support them but Victims Centre boycotted our trainings and rejected our offer to help victims with their healing," he stated.

Sabally said the Truth Reconciliation and Reparation Commission (TRRC) brought many things in the country to light but that should not warrant the Centre to only concentrate on justice and reparations.

He further said that anyone who understands trauma will definitely understand that human suffering concerns him, noting that money, reparation and/or justice can be sorted out later.

According to him, for a person to be fully functional and effective in the society they need their full mental capacity which Victim Centre is denying victims.

He said he sees no reason why Victim Centre abandons them and goes to Senegal seeking the same services they are offering at their door steps.

He said the project is not about him but for Gambians and the Victim Centre as an institution they should understand that and therefore urged them to rethink and reconsider their position in the interest of victims healing.

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