Fatimah was 11 years old when she was returning from washing clothes in the river and heard a shot ring out from the direction of her home. She ran home quickly only to find her father dead from gunshot wounds. Frightened, she fled, and has continued to be deeply traumatized ever since. Today Fatimah is 15. Unfortunately, her story is not unique.

The former conflict in Aceh left hundreds of children orphaned, especially in the districts of North Aceh and East Aceh. Thousands more were displaced from their homes by “high security” zones, which are defined as conflict-prone areas enforced by the military. Fortunately, many of these children are taken in by Acehnese traditional boarding schools, known locally as dayahs.

In an effort to help children like Fatima, Psikodista, an organization providing mental health and psychosocial services for communities affected by discord, runs programs in three dayahs in North Aceh and East Aceh with help from USAID/SERASI. Sofie, the psychologist from Psikodista explained that the program has established counseling centers in the dayahs and trained teacher counselors in counseling and psychological intervention. The program also creates interesting activities for the students such as interactive plays and storyboards where they have an opportunity to realize their creative talent.

Thirty students from ten dayahs were trained to become peer counselors and equipped with knowledge and skills in discord resolution, counseling techniques, and mental health. Fitria, 16, a peer counselor at Dayah Baitul Huda, explained why she volunteered to become a peer counselor. “Living and studying together with the other girls, we share a lot of our personal problems. For some reason, they often came to me to ask for advice. Sometimes I was able to help, but in many cases, I was at a loss for how to help them. That is why I wanted to learn counseling skills, so I can help my friends.”

Fitria is now more confident in helping her friends deal with some of their problems. When she can not handle issues on her own, she encourages her friends to seek advice and help from the trained resident teachers and a psychologist from Psikodista that makes regular weekly visits to the dayahs. USAID/SERASI support has enabled these schools to provide the crucial support they need to help students slowly recover from trauma.

SERASI is a three-year USAID funded project focused on creating stable, democratic communities. It is implemented by International Relief and Development (IRD).