Liberia

One of the programs Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) supports provides training and spiritual and emotional support for those who minister. Miatta, a woman who works with women and girls who have been raped, shares the story of one such woman. After having been brutalized, she ran into the bush, where Miatta found her. The trauma had left the woman apathetic and unable to speak. Miatta visited the woman often and let her simply rest her head on Miatta’s chest. One day, after some months of this persistent care, as she was resting her head on Miatta, the woman began to cry and then to talk. Through the conversation, she began to confront what she had experienced during the war. Now the woman attends various activities that are designed to give women new skills. PDA has provided more than $430,000 in humanitarian relief in Liberia, including direct funding, training, and material resources. PDA is supported by gifts to the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.

Sierra Leone

The Christian Council of Sierra Leone (CCSL) is working with the help of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and the Presbyterian Hunger Program (PHP) to facilitate the country’s ongoing recovery from its ten-year civil war. Their joint work centers in the areas of human rights/social services and development. Their human rights work is focused in three functional areas of the CCSL. Mending Hearts is responsible for training counselors to assist citizens struggling to recover from trauma suffered during the war such as rape and torture. Child Rights Violations addresses the various ways children suffered in wartime and continue to suffer in the aftermath of war. Advocacy seeks the promotion of good governance and works for peace, justice, and reconciliation. The work oversees development planning and provides church development officers with technical assistance. This desk also addresses food security and coordinates a youth development program and an agricultural program for ex-combatants. PDA and PHP are funded through the One Great Hour of Sharing offering.