War victim becomes community health promotor in refugee camp: Because I recovered from horrible traumas, I feel I can also heal the wounds of others
I managed to escape the deadly war in Congo, with my six children. But in the beginning in refugee camp Kakuma, I faced many challenges. The climate! The food! The other people from such different cultural backgrounds! And, of course, the horrific traumas from the war! But now, as a community health promotor, I like to help people from different backgrounds. Because I recovered from horrible war traumas, I feel I can also heal the wounds of others. My name is Asia Swedi, I am 41 years, Congolese by nationality. I am married and a mother of six kids. I fled from my country of origin in 2011, due to tribal conflict. It was a disastrous war that claimed thousands of lives in my community. The largest tribe turned against my tribe and was mainly targeting men. My husband had to flee to safety, ahead of me, in 2010. He made it to Kakuma refugee camp. But for me the situation became worse. The attackers started to kill anyone they found, including even small children. I had to flee too. After a journey of seven days, I arrived in Kakuma - with my children. However, life was not easy in the refugee camp. Living with people from different nationalities was a challenge. The climate was a challenge. The diet was a challenge. it took me months to adapt to the food in Kakuma. Moreover, the horrific experience of the war I escaped, made me live in fear. But, after some time, I started to interact more often with people from different nationalities and eventually Kakuma became a good place for me to live. After several years in the camp, I realized that many refugees here share more or less similar experiences. Many of them have left their country because of conflict. Many of them have gone through the same challenges and difficulties. And because I had recovered from these horrible traumatic experiences, I felt like I could also heal the wounds of others. if only I might share my experience with them. So, I decided to work as a community health promoter for the International Rescue Committee. I worked voluntarily for two years until I was employed as an incentive worker for the same job in 2018. Currently, I am working for the community. I do help pregnant mothers, children under 5 and sick people. I visit expectant as well as breastfeeding mothers in their houses and I help them understand important health measures and preventions. I teach the expectant mothers to regularly go for a check-up at various health centers in the camp. I examine and record health-related issues in the community and I refer people to the health centers. I teach them about hygiene. This job is important because it is key in my life as well as in the community. For example, some of the mothers are not aware of the health facilities. My job gives me the privilege to create awareness and make the available health recourses known to the people in the community. The job has provided me with an opportunity to work with people from different nationalities. This has made me know people and live with them. I am now culturally competent and I can stay with people around the world without challenges.