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I now look at children with different eyes, I understand the symptoms of trauma and can now help them.[/caption]Riëtte Botha and Courtney Hendricks presented the Walking with Wounded Children course in Bujumbura, Burundi, from 10 - 25 March 2020, in partnership with Ina Schütte of Liebenzeller Mission from Germany. Liebenzeller Mission, in collaboration with the Anglican Church in Bujumbura, organised the training. One of the students, Pastor Teddy-Hervé Nkurunziza, tells how the course changed his view of children:"Our church cares for 36 children from vulnerable families. Before doing the Walking with Wounded Children course, I kept a distance between the children and myself, and did not have a relationship with them. The children sometimes acted aggressively. I did not know how to help them or what the cause of their aggression was. The parents told me that the children did not want to go to school or do their homework, and this upset me deeply. However, the strategy that Petra Institute taught us helped me to know where to start to help the children because I learned that their aggression was a symptom of trauma. Now I look at children differently and no longer judge them. I look deeper into their circumstances, and I have learned to help them. The active listening skills also help me where I work with adult victims - it has changed my interaction with patients and victims, and in my relationship with my wife!”We praise the Lord for leaders who look at children through the eyes of Jesus Christ. Communities are being changed by this!
