©InfoDavid is 18 years old and like a typical teenage boy slouching in his chair, he plays it cool. But of course he’s not really so typical. “During the war I was separated from my parents. For a while I was sleeping on the streets and in the market, but in the end I joined the fighting forces,” David explains. “I can’t really remember how old I was when this happened. I was about 12 years old at the end of the war.”
At the beginning it is often difficult for the children to tell their stories. Each child is assigned a caseworker who meets with them once a week to provide counselling – both to help them deal with the traumas they’ve experienced and to provide vocational guidance. The children call their caseworkers 'auntie' or 'uncle' as they build strong relationships with them throughout the year.
Dealing with trauma
Madia Reeves, Liberia Red Cross project co-ordinator, says: “Usually it takes three to five months before they start to open up and really tell you everything they’ve been through.
"Some who took part in the violence are living with the guilt. They come in and they are very angry and don’t want to be friends. After the counselling they begin loosening up and you can see it in their facial expressions, they become free of depression and start interacting with people again.
“For those who are really unable to speak about their experience we use art therapy. We give them paper and ask them to draw anything they want. Some of them go for months refusing to talk we try this different strategy. Some will draw huge monsters, or just use the colour red to show blood. We then use the pictures to start addressing the child’s experiences.”
Learning a trade
After the conflict David managed to find his father and younger brothers and sisters. But his mother died during the war.
“The reason why I’m here is because I was sitting at home and someone went by with a megaphone announcing about the CAR programme,” David explains. “They said if you’d lost a parent in the war or had been affected in other ways you could come and get a free education.”
When David is asked what trade he’s chosen to learn, he drops his laidback cool for a moment and breaks into a huge grin: “I’ve chosen to study masonry because I love buildings. When I’m trained I’d like to open a school to teach others what I’ve learned. I love it here, it’s a good opportunity for me, this chance to get an education and to learn a trade so I won’t have to beg. Now I have a future.”
More about post-conflict care in Liberia
Find out about post-conflict care in Sierra Leone