HUMANITARIAN AID 2024
Help from the heart
MUTIMA means heart in various African dialects, and that is what we do, give our heart because we know that love heals. We want to be part of the change and grow life and hope even in the most desperate situations.
The MUTIMA Psychosocial Center is a welcoming space for the promotion of mental health. This is a safe space where those from a vulnerable population can receive healing from trauma. Because of new therapy techniques specific to dealing with trauma, people will be able to move forward from the terrible moments they have faced, rebuild their lives and feel greater well-being.
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A prosperous society is when its people feel physically and emotionally safe.
Mutima Africa
Mental health saves and dignifies life. Mental health is hope.
MUTIMA Psychosocial Center
A sanctuary for life
Thanks to the NGO COOPERA EUSKADI and the support of the Basque Government, which believed in the vision and mission of the COOPERA CONGO team, led by Lorena Aguirre Cadarso, it was possible to build the first MUTIMA Psychosocial Center in the South Kivu Province. The CP Mutima is a service of the Pediatric Hospital of Lwiro, managed by the prestigious Center for Research in Natural Sciences (CRSN / Lwiro). During the first six months of opening MUTIMA, 869 people were treated in group therapy, individual and psychiatric treatment, with a total of 1,405 therapeutic sessions. We provided 6 trainings in mental health and psychosocial support for 142 doctors, nurses, psychologists and social workers. Likewise, through MUTIMA we provided community awareness in 6 districts around Kahuzi-Biega National Park and the Lwiro Primate Rehabilitation Center . Posters are used to inform about common mental disorders and fight stigma. Finally, a radio program has been created with 24 participants called "Mental Health, Peace and Biodiversity", which is broadcast throughout the province via GORILLA FM.
The mission of the MUTIMA Psychosocial Center is to collaborate with the Congolese people, creating mental health services focusing in areas with the highest rate of violence which are accessible to all (children, youth, adults and the elderly). We train empathetic professionals who are committed to facilitating modern and effective treatments. We focus on research in mental health so that it can guide humanitarian aid in the country in order to help communities recognize the symptoms of discomfort in themselves and in others; to not fear them and to know where to turn. People can overcome trauma and build resilience for the future.
Our mission
Treatment
Training
Mutima in the DR Congo
The Congolese people live with trauma constantly. In everyday life they witness armed conflicts, outbreaks of violence, massacres, looting, assaults at home, physical and psychological rape, torture, and murder.
In addition to this there are natural disasters such as landslides, floods, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, not to mention epidemics such as Ebola, measles, cholera and COVID19.
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Community
Awareness
Crisis
Intervention
Unit
Research
These experiences have brought with them a feeling of helplessness in the face of an uncertain future and in some cases, the development of mental disorders. These include depression, anxiety disorders, chronic stress, post-traumatic stress, and other psychoses.
The Mutima Psychosocial Center is located where it is most needed, but we need to go further with this vision.
The Kivu region is the area of most conflict in the country due to the quantity and quality of its natural resources (diamonds, gold, copper, cobalt, tin, tantalum, lithium, wood, and wildlife etc.) Approximately 100 rebel groups are actively operating in this region.
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Our vision is to put a smile in the hearts of those who suffer in silence the effects of trauma, in the provinces of South Kivu, North Kivu, and Ituri, through the creation of more "MUTIMAS".
Martin Luther
"Everything that is done in the world is done out of hope."
We need your help
Without action there is no change
Without support, these people will not reach their full human potential, nor will they contribute to the building of peace, nor to the protection of the environment, nor to the economic development of their communities, and they will never have a full and happy life.
Each small MUTIMA branch, within a hospital, to put a smile within one’s heart, requires:
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€ 15,000 initial investment to equip the individual therapy room, awareness equipment, second generation psychotropic medicines, selection and training of psychologists and social workers in modern techniques for the treatment of trauma.
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€ 6,000 per year for salaries and costs derived from the management.
Africa gives its resources to the world ... it is time for us to thank and return the favor. It is time to invest in their future.
Those of you who support this project, whether from the public or private sector, individuals, foundations or companies, are the ones who can make our project possible. Help us, so that mental health, dignity, justice, training, and awareness continue to grow. So that these people can experience more justice and freedom and understand that they have the right, yes the right, to life and personal and collective dignity.
Form
Sponsors & Collaborators
Solidarity Psychology Cabinets
