Untold stories of children suffering from trauma
A THREE-YEAR-OLD girl is the youngest to seek refuge at the Church of Melanesia’s Christian Care Centre on the outskirt of Honiara.
The centre’s director, Doreen Awaiasi revealed this at a one-day workshop on violence against women last week in Honiara.
Ms Awaiasi said the child’s story was amongst the many untold stories of traumatised children seeking refuge and help at the centre as a result of family problems.
“She can’t sleep at night and always needs company to go to the toilet,” she said.
Ms Awaiasi said another six year old girl always woke up at 2am and cried.
“We did not know why she cried every 2am until we realised that this was exactly the time the perpetrator went into her room to rape her,” she said.
Ms Awaiasi added another nine-year-old girl had given them a very hard time because she could not go out of her room alone to the toilet.
“She is confused with the toilet and room. She is psychologically affected.”
Ms Awaiasi said they did their best to help her overcome the fear and she finally overcomed it.
“We need to be patient and gentle in this kind of situation because these are traumatised children,” she said.
Christian Care Centre is the only rehabilitation facility established to support children and women affected by domestic violence.
It has 20 rooms and is supported by Anglican Church and the national government.
The centre is where most victims of domestic violence seek refuge. It was manned by Sisters of the Church.
By EDDIE OSIFELO
