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VOT Country Programs: West Africa
Counseling, Rehabilitation and Social Reintegration of Victims of Torture
Implementing Partners: To be determined
Funding Period: December 2002 - December 2004
Amount: $750,000
Purpose: Work with national and sub-regional social organizations, using a cross-border approach, to
facilitate the return and rehabilitation of refugees and to improve their access to adequate
information.
Objectives:
- Strengthen local facilities and services in the psycho-social, legal, medical, and protection sectors
to ensure they can respond to and prevent incidents of gender violence.
- Provide direct mental health services for traumatized individuals and increase the capacities of
local mental health infrastructures.
- Promote non-violent conflict resolution and social reintegration of returnees among communities
living in the cross-border area of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Liberia.
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The conflict in the Mano River basin arises from political instability in the three-border area of
Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia as it grapples with problems associated with continued armed
conflict and post-conflict transition. The enduring regional conflict has disintegrated
communities, destroyed infrastructures, stalled economies, and forced massive displacement of
families internally and across borders. While the recent end of armed hostilities in Sierra Leone is
an important step toward achieving harmony in the region, this fragile peace is currently
challenged by the resurgence of violence in neighboring Liberia.
In collaboration with other USAID bilateral programs in the sub-region, the VOT-funded project
responds to the urgent needs of refugees returning to Sierra Leone from Guinea and Liberia. In
particular, this project focuses attention on treating refugees who have suffered from trauma
associated with forced abduction, torture, maiming, and sexual abuse. The program seeks to
provide accurate information that will ultimately facilitate the social reintegration of returnees and
encourage peace-building dialogue in cross-border communities.
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