Pakistan: Victims Of Peshawar Church Blasts To Receive Counselling From Specially Trained Team Of Peshawar Diocese

The Diocese of Peshawar sends a seven member team for counselling training to provide counselling services to the Peshawar Church blasts victims.

As CIP has learned, members of the Peshawar Diocese have undertaken counselling training for the purpose of helping the mentally distressed and traumatized victims of the September 22 suicide bombings at the All Saints Church. The members who had been trained for counselling included a team of seven who travelled all the way to Lahore for training organized by Interserve. Some of these trainees had themselves lost loved ones in the incident. Sessions included ‘Effective Listening’ and ‘Overcoming Grief’.

Fehmida William one of those who has received counselling services from those trained expressed overwhelmingly that she moral support from these counsellors. She had lost her husband and two children in the blasts. As she went on to put in plain words the results these counselling sessions have had she told that she received help and support after the incident from a range of charities and Churches. She said: They all gave me moral support and financial help as well. It is worth mentioning that the Diocese of Peshawar has arranged a team of Medical professionals who provide Nursing Care, Physiotherapy, and Psychological and spiritual counselling on a regular basis.

She herself sustained injuries in the attacks said: four months on, I am physically on the mend and it is my faith in God that is helping me cope with the loss of my family.I keep praying to God and he blessed me with patience and peace of heart. Although it’s a great loss, as my children and husband will never come back, the Spirit of God is with me, and it consoles me all the time. Praise the Lord! I am mobile; I can walk with the help of a walking frame. I can socialise with others, and the healing process is still going on. Hopefully, with the grace of God, one day I will be fully recovered, but I will always be in debt to all those people who helped me and my family, especially my in-laws and Diocese of Peshawar which I am sure will never abandon its people.

While a spokesperson for the diocese wrote in its latest newsletter to the Anglican News: Still the Christian community of Peshawar is passing through a very difficult time full of grief after the blast at All Saints’ Church, Peshawar.They need proper comfort and counselling. The diocese has deep concern about them and is struggling to provide them with spiritual counselling and comfort.As a result the seven were sent to learn more about how to support those coming to terms with loss and injury.

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