Rebuilding Hope in Mozambique combined traditional healing and western psychology to reintegrate former child soldiers.  Thousands of children were used as soldiers by both sides in Mozambique’s devastating civil war.  The organization saw the need for an integrated healing process that would allow families and communities to accept child soldiers back into their lives — these children who may have perpetrated atrocities suffered by their own communities.

First, they conducted a survey to identify the communities most affected by child soldiers.  Acknowledging that traditional healers are often the first people community members approach when they need help (healing), Rebuilding Hope psychologists enlisted the support of community leaders to build a relationship with the healers in order to become project partners for the healing of former child soldiers. To build trust with the community, Rebuilding Hope also provided material assistance, connecting the community to supports such as housing, education and agricultural tools.

In the community, psychologists explored the role traditional healing processes in promoting reconciliation and reintegration.  They would go to families to see what the children needed.  At first, the families were reluctant to trust the outsiders, and feared the children might be taken from them yet again.  The psychologists also went to local leaders, asking them if they were seeing particular problems among the returning child soldiers, and describing the effects of trauma.   They asked if the healers had been able to address these problems.  When the local leaders acknowledged that these problems were continuing, the psychologists offered their assistance in working collaboratively with the traditional healers.

Local leaders would accompany the psychologists on visits to healers to encourage collaboration.  Psychologists and local healers realized the complementarity of their approaches. Rebuilding Hope succeeded in building a collaborative relationship with healers, so that they would refer children to one another for a holistic approach to healing.

As a result of the creation of an integrated support system combining western psychology and the traditional healing processes, child soldiers were provided with a mental and emotional support system that included traditional healing rituals that benefited the individual and the community.