The Jacaranda tree can be found blooming all around the world, and for many, its extravagant purple blossoms are a symbol of hope. The flowers unfold in the driest time of the year, a blind act of faith, foreshadowing the coming of much-needed rain. Like the tree, the children helped by the Jacaranda Communities of Hope program bloom despite their trauma, in anticipation of a brighter future.
Twelve12:Hope's vision is to equip community leaders to offer healing and hope to traumatized children. We do this primarily through our Jacaranda Communities of Hope® program, which trains community leaders to facilitate recovery and healing in children who have experienced chronic, complex trauma. Over the last 15 years, Jacaranda training has been delivered in Burma (Myanmar), The Democratic Republic of Congo, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Kenya, Nigeria, Mongolia and Kurdish Iraq, as well as South Sudan and Ukraine.
The Jacaranda program is dedicated to children around the world who:
live each day without the assurance of safety and provision of the basic needs of food, shelter, clean water, and clothing;
are separated from their families, not knowing the whereabouts of loved ones or when they might be reunited;
live each day with uncertainty, chaos and dangerous circumstances;
find ways to occupy themselves with dolls made of grass and toy guns and engage in risky behaviors to act out their trauma and pass the time;
know that death comes often to those around them;
have a story of trauma but have no one in their lives to help them share that story.
The principles of trauma recovery are rooted in love. Bringing hope through the loving gift of presence to children is the core strategy of the Jacaranda program. Trauma recovery occurs through creating a safe environment so that children can share their story in their own way, and know they are loved and not forgotten.
To create this environment, we find local organisations that work with children who are willing to host the Jacaranda programme. The host organisation recruits 20 trainees to join a 5-day training session on the basics of trauma recovery using play and story-telling. The following week, those trainees host a 5-day “Healing Play Camp” for up to 40 children, where they are able to practice the skills they’ve learned the week before. Inviting the children into safe, child-centered interventions brings about healing and develops a sense of community, hope and growth. And it doesn’t end there; after the Healing Play Camp the Jacaranda graduates go back into their local communities to work with those children and many others, applying the principles they’ve learned in their own settings and multiplying the ministry of hope.
If you are interested in hosting a Jacaranda program in your area, please go to the “Get Involved” page.