Prayer service at Praise and Worship Centre beneficial to community members
They also refer people to rehabs, offer shelter to victims of gender-based violence and abuse.
The prayer service held at the Praise and Worship Christian Centre did not only benefit its members, but all attended the service.
The service was intended as a healing session for all who have lost their loved ones, especially through the Covid-19 pandemic and to give spiritual support and counselling on the day. The service was held on Saturday, October 9.
Host Pastor Joseph Skhosana had invited clinical psychologist Mandla Mhlanga, Dr George Tshehla and social worker Ms Olga Mapia.
Ms Mapia talked about the programmes offered by the Department of Social Development.
She said they deal with the registration of non-governmental organisations, offer services to elderly people, children and families and people with substance abuse, provide care and advice to early childhood development, people living with HIV/Aids, neglected people and pre-school monitoring.
They also refer people to rehabs, offer shelter to victims of gender-based violence and abuse. They have programmes on trafficking and they work together with other organisations like Favoc as well as empowerment programmes for victims.
“We deal with a lot of challenges and of people being in denial and having difficulties to accept a loss. We encourage people to talk and open up about the problems, taking care of themselves, having enough sleep and consulting when overcome by grief. One should not suppress feelings as that is very dangerous and we also encourage people to be creative and share the pain with other people. Do not blame yourself over a lost member, reach out to other support groups, give yourself space to grieve and do not judge people who are grieving and protect each other”.
Dr Tshehla shared his personal experience working at Witbank Hospital and related stories of the challenges they have on a daily basis and that Covid-19 was here and how they are dealing with it, from their co-health workers to different situations at the hospital.
He encourages people to get vaccinated as that is very important. Dr Tshehla also said there was a lot of wrong information about the pandemic and the vaccine.
Dr Mhlanga related a traumatic personal experience after losing his wife and three children and how hard it was to accept and before that how he lost his mother while he was in Grade 12. He said God has spared his life for a purpose even after his food was poisoned.
Dr Mhlanga told the people about the different types of losses, symptoms of loss, signs of stress, the connection between mind and brain, bodily released chemicals, anger towards loss, state of shock, acceptance of loss and shock.
“Do not blame yourself or other people after a loss. Talk about your loss, it is normal to grieve, learn to adjust and accept loss, give and share the love. It is important to have support systems, but if one cannot cope, it is important to consult to avoid stress or depression”.
There was a question and answer session offered to the people.
Pastor Skhosana said a lot of families were going through difficult times because of the pandemic and he felt the importance as a church to offer such services. He said they were letting people find one another and find hope in their difficulties. The session also offered information on an emotional and social level and on how to deal with different situations.
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