Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding & Development Assistance

Photo Credit: Ginny Morrison

Mediators Beyond Borders International’s Trauma-Informed Peacebuilding & Development Assistance (TIPDA) provides comprehensive training and consultation on the impact of primary and secondary trauma. Recognizing and addressing trauma results in more effective project design, leading to self- sustaining investment in livelihoods, partnerships, and peaceful resolution of conflicts.

TIPDA is built on a solid theoretical understanding of the neurobiology of trauma, current research, and extensive field experience.

TIPDA is delivered by a multidisciplinary team which includes trauma specialists, mediators, educators, development specialists and clinicians. This theoretical basis guides MBBI’s belief that normalizing, validating and educating leaders, individuals and communities about the impact of exposure to trauma can remove a significant barrier to resolving conflicts peacefully, tapping a community’s resilience, and creating sustainable peace.

"I continue to be a goodwill Ambassador for some of the processes and techniques you've shown us. I’ve shown colleagues techniques for calming, and validating emotions. I'm re-reading the training books to make sure I retain the details. It's so very useful. Critical really."
- TIPDA Participant, 2016

TIPDA is adaptable, assisting:

• Interviewers in Kenya, with developing trauma sensitive research questions—while investigating the contributing factors that lead to an increase/ decrease in cattle raiding among pastoralists;
• Healthcare providers in Sierra Leone, to facilitate trauma-informed dialogues within communities ravaged by the Ebola crisis;
• Nonviolent Peaceforce staff in South Sudan, to incorporate trauma-sensitive approaches when defusing conflict and building teams of women peacebuilders in Protection of Civilian areas and surrounding communities;
• USAID and partner organizations in South Sudan, to apply trauma-informed practices to development program design and implementation. Teams created trauma sensitive programming for (1) emergency education, (2) agricultural livelihoods, (3) and reconciliation. Internews considered trauma-sensitive methods for news gathering as well as trauma-related programs they would like to create;
• MSI and USAID staff and partners with pro-active approaches to supporting and managing staff in high risk environments.

TIPDA is applicable across sectors such as:

• Peacebuilding and Reconciliation,
• International Development,
• Disaster & Emergency Management,
• Organizational Management &
• Staff Self-Care