Juba, 16 June, 2020 / 8:27 pm (ACI Africa).
Representatives of churches in South Sudan have partnered with Christian Aid of the Government of UK to establish a helpline center for psychosocial and trauma healing of the people affected by COVID-19, an official of their collective forum, the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) has told ACI Africa.
“We are launching the psychosocial and trauma care helpline services and we have opened a Toll-Free number (2222) where any South Sudanese citizen can call to speak to our counselors,” SSCC Secretary General, Fr. James Oyet Latansio told ACI Africa in an interview after the launch, Monday, June 15.
SSCC’s COVID-19 Helpline Center for psychosocial and trauma healing is manned by experienced counselors with a mission to offer basic psychosocial counselling and follow-up to clients in a state of distress as well as provide access to factual and evidence-based information, Fr. James said.
“For the start, we are starting with six counselors and three youth volunteers who will always answer the phones,” he said and added, “The time will start from nine in the morning up to one o’clock, and then we have a lunch break, then from two o’clock up to four o’clock.”
The overall objective of the center is to improve psychosocial wellbeing and decrease distress among South Sudanese populations and citizens directly and indirectly affected by COVID-19 pandemic and other sorts of violence, according to Fr. James.
