The Gambian Widows

We provide mental health related services such as: Grief Counselling, Group and Family Counselling, Psychotherapy, Trauma Related Therapy, Drug and Alcohol Counselling.

We provide: Food Items, Clothing, Completion and Repairs to Homes., Basic Home Furnishing, Temporary Housing, Financial assistance.

We create: Employment opportunities, volunteer opportunities.

We plan to: Extend our work by hosting community group sessions and activities geard toward the awareness of mental health issues and drug and alcohol abuse and their comorbidities. We plan to begin training widows and women in the community in Basic I.T, English, Math and Entrepreneurial skills and are also working on creating more employment opportunities.

What we have achieved to date: We initied the project with supplying basic food provision for 6 widows and their household. This was extended to 10. When the news began spreading about the work being done in Kiang, Nema we received numerous more referrals, and were also able to reach windows in Numu Kunda. To date, we have worked with 20 widows in the region.

During our intereaction with some of these widows, it was disclosed that the loss of the main breadwinner of the household has had a negative impact on some of their teenage and adult male children who are now responsible for supporting the family and are struggling to find employment, or receive bear minimum for their self-employment pursuits, while still dealing with grief. Because of this, some of these men have become dependant on illicit drugs and abuse alcohol as a coping mechanism to manage the stress.

Based on this information we began providing individual and family grief counselling sessons.  We also provide drug and alcohol counselling to those in these families affected by the same. Moreover, we have had to provide trauma relatated therapy to a few of these windows in the cohort. Some have shared past experiences of abuse within their relationships and some along with their children have been attacked and/or verbally abused by their adult, specifically male children who are now addicted to drugs and alcohol, all of which have that have left them tramatised.

Apart from the above-mentioned, The Gambian Widows has repaired two homes which were left in a deplorable state, and provided appropriate bedding and other small furniture items to create a more comfortable environment for these widows and their households.

For some of the widows who are physically able to work, we also provide employment on a nearby farm which helps gives support with their basic needs.