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When Camille first came to us she was frightened and confused. She couldn’t look her therapist in the eye. She felt isolated and alone. She would wake at night with flashbacks of the horrors she had witnessed. During her sessions, she would stare at the carpet and, in silence, shuffle her chair as close as possible to the therapist.
In 1994, the brutal, genocidal conflict in Rwanda reached Camille’s home town. Most of her family and friends were killed. Her mother and father were taken, and are presumed dead. For the next five years Camille lived with her uncle and sisters in refugee camps. Conditions were horrific and the camps were frequently attacked by militia. Camille has seen things that no child should ever have to see.
Finally, in desperation they attempted to flee from the region. The plane stopped on the way to the UK and, in the confusion, Camille’s two sisters were taken off the plane by guards. She has not seen them since.
At the Medical Foundation, we see hundreds of children in similarly distressing situations every year. The Befriending Project exists to forge a deep and enduring connection between vulnerable children like Camille and a trusted advocate someone to act as a mentor, practical guide, and friend.
Retired schoolteacher Julia was the ideal befriender for Camille. They met, and soon Camille was taking Julia’s hand. Over the next few months they visited exhibitions, saw shows and did simple, basic things together, like baking gingerbread men and growing vegetables.
After an evening at an African music event, the pair of them danced down the street together. Camille felt loved, alive, and for the first time in years, just like other girls with friends and family. Every Wednesday, they meet at a library and Julia helps with Camille’s homework. They have never missed a session.
Above all, they talk and listen. Before Julia, Camille had no female in her life, no-one she could turn to for advice. She dreaded parents’ evenings at school because she had no parents. She struggled initially because she had never been to school. Julia has helped her to grow from a silent, frightened, girl into a glowing young woman with a future and a sense of belonging.
We have many children still in need of a befriender. They are all volunteers and the role is a long-term and often difficult and demanding commitment. With your help we can ensure that these essential relationships remain unbroken.
Selecting and training individuals with the rare ability to become befrienders is a long, costly process,; it costs £1,500 to maintain a befriending relationship for one year. But, if you could see Camille today, you’d know that it is worth every penny. Please give what you can.
- The Medical Foundation for Care of Torture Victims