In 2020 a decision was made by Bridging Lanka to support young people in Mannar District, northern Sri Lanka, struggling with life itself. We discovered complex levels of trauma.
From ongoing and deep interactions with mothers, fathers, children and young people we confronted family violence, incest, drugs and alcohol addiction, failed relationships, and even suicide – behaviours which are becoming normalised.
Bridging Lanka needs to work towards a circuit breaker to protect current and future generations of young people from being scarred by trauma. This ‘wicked problem’ needs carefully considered responses.
At the Transforming Trauma workshop, you will be presented with real life scenarios of trauma in Mannar. Our task will be to examine them and move towards identifying strategies and pathways to prevent, respond and heal these traumatic wounds. A ‘barefoot’ approach will be needed in a context of limited resources, support networks and mental health services.
