Healing Maryam Dengelat (HEAL)

In November of 2020, at the beginning of the current conflict in Ethiopia, the Orthodox Church of Maryam Dengelat in Eastern Tigray was the scene of a massacre. While hundreds were celebrating an annual religious festival, a group of soldiers opened fire on the church. Many lives were lost and families were torn apart. 

Healing Maryam Dengelat (HEAL) is a project of the Faculty of Environment at Simon Fraser University (SFU). This project aims to bring trauma counselling specialists to the people of Maryam Dengelat in Eastern Tigray.

The HEAL counselling team consists of Hagos Gebremariam a Tigrayan social worker from Adigrat University in Tigray and Brenton Diaz, a Canadian registered social worker and trauma therapist. The counselling team will identify ten social services community leaders who will be trained on trauma theory and service provision. Principles on trauma and mental health will be evaluated through the lens of Tigrayan culture to ensure it is suitable for the local population. After working with Maryam Dengelat residents, the community leaders will be able to extend the service to other areas as needed. 

An important element of this plan is equipping leaders to maintain a response based on their own conceptions of trauma work. Our SFU team is also able to provide ongoing consultation for leaders as needed after the training period. 

In order to send the counselling team, we need your help to ensure the Maryam Dengelat people have the support they need to move on from the traumatic events that occurred to them. Your support can make an impact on the life of someone who has lost their family or friends.