Renewed Energy Serving Humanity (RESH-Liberia)

Renewed Energy Serving Humanity (RESH-Liberia)

Renewed Energy Serving Humanity (RESH), is a Liberian-based NGO that aims to provide vital psychosocial support for victims of natural disasters and traumatic events such as war, family crisis, substance abuse and the Ebola epidemic.

Mission statement

Our mission is to give back to humanity through our actions and deeds. We provide our services via psychosocial counselling, community awareness and sensitization, advocacy, capacity building and research.

Our core areas of focus include:

  • Psychosocial Counselling
  • Community Mobilization and Awareness
  • Ardent and Proactive Advocacy
  • Capacity Building
  • Research

We also provide psychosocial support-related services for the victims' families, friends and communities, as well as those who provide care for the victims.

Summary of relevant work

RESH's initial membership is mainly made of students. The students comprised of the following:

  • Students studying counselling, nursing and education at the Adventist University of West Africa on the Robertsfield Highway, Margibi, Liberia
  • Students studying sociology and other social sciences at the AME Zion University on Benson Street, Monrovia, Liberia
  • Other students from the University of Liberia and professionals from all walks of life 

RESH currently has at least 500 volunteers/members in four counties (Montserrado, Margibi, Bomi, and Nimba) who are being trained periodically and called upon as the need arises to foster RESH's vision and goal. Our volunteer staff train community members in lay trauma awareness and support, provide phone-based and in-person counselling and help people in crisis fight stigma and re-integrate in the community.

The Founder and Executive Director of RESH Mr Ernest Garnark Smith, Jr. is a passionate psychosocial counselor and commentator/writer, social worker, freelance poet, university lecturer, blogger and motivational speaker. He is the first volunteer social worker who donned personal protective equipment and entered the Eternal Life Winning Africa Christian Ministries Ebola Treatment Unit in Monrovia, Liberia to provide psychosocial support for the likes of the late Dr Abraham Borbor, the survivors Dr Philip Zochonis Ireland, Melvin Kai and other health workers and patients/Ebola victims who were at the Ebola Treatment Unit between the months of August and September 2014 when Ebola was raging in Liberia and the Mano River Basin.

He, through RESH, has since continued to provide follow-up sessions for several survivors and traumatized health workers and victims' families. He and his RESH team have built the capacity of local, community groups to fight Ebola and have ceaselessly appeared on radio talk shows and television shows to discuss on the issues of quality, psychosocial supports and societal ills.

Key partners

Funders

Seeking collaboration with

Experts by experience/service users
Other organizations
Policy makers
Researchers

Details

Approach(es)
Advocacy
Human rights
Prevention and promotion
Training, education and capacity building
Treatment, care and rehabilitation
Disorder(s)
Alcohol/drug use disorders
Depression/anxiety/stress-related disorders
Self-harm/suicide
Region(s)
Africa
Population(s)
Adults
Children and adolescents
Communicable diseases (e.g. HIV/AIDS, TB)
Families and carers
Setting(s)
Community
School
Workplace
Country(s)
Liberia