12 Years Ago…

It was 12 years ago that I (Kierstie) was standing in an earthquake area in the western part of China just outside of the city of Chengdu. An earthquake had hit in the Spring of 2008, and mountain areas were decimated leaving many people without basic needs. By the time I was there many basic needs were being met by outside organizations that focus on getting food, shelter, and water to people in need. I was there working with a group that was bringing fun back into the kids lives through sports. As I stood on a concrete pad with temporary corrugated tin structures surrounding us I felt deep in my heart that something was missing. These people’s basic needs were getting met, but no one was there to help them understand what they had been through, no one was there to help them understand why memories and nightmares were disrupting their lives, or why a truck rumbling down the road would make it feel like life was about to end all over again. No one was there to help them with the psychological and emotional healing that many of them needed as they were dealing with traumatic stress reactions that had progressively turned into Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. At this realization there was a vision planted within me that day to respond to those deeper mind and heart level needs, and help people in places like this heal from trauma. There was no name for it back then, and I had a long road of education, experience, and professional evolution that needed to happen before I was equipped to carry that vision out.

Today that vision is coming to fruition through what is now known as The Rapha Project. It is through this organization that I hope to not only help people in hurting nations heal from the traumas they have experienced, but more so train and equip those who live in those nations longterm to respond effectively to those impacted. The aim of this training model is for sustainability so that nationals, expats, and others living overseas are not dependent on an outside organization for effective intervention. Healing people is the goal, training & intervention are the strategies, and hope is the legacy The Rapha Project desires to leave.