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Asha -Hope in Trauma

ASHA was born in India in response to the overwhelming increase in human trafficking that our world has been facing. In a world where women and girls are constantly subject to abuse, we often wonder where is God in all of this. There is a want and need to discover more about the heart of God for the broken-hearted, the wounded and the traumatized. This is where Asha steps in bringing the message of hope through Jesus Christ when it feels like evil has won and hope is lost. Assuring them of the life that is come on the other side of eternity where “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:4 And through Jesus’ death on the cross, the back of Satan was broken and triumphed over evil. Asha will serve as a catalyst of hope for the hurting and the marginalised beyond its geographic boundaries.

Forming the core of Asha:

Asha was built on the foundations of the Gospel of John. Jesus lived, what he taught, and how he interacted with all kinds of people, including people in the midst of trauma. When Jesus encounters people, he made seven bold statements about who he is:- “I am the true vine”, “I am the door”, “I am the bread of life”, “I am the good shepherd”, “I am the light”, “I am the way, the truth and the life” and “I am the resurrection and the life”. Asha explores each of Jesus’ ‘I am’ statements in light of how they apply to every woman who’s suffered abuse. It also features the stories of individual women and girls who’ve bravely entrusted the details of their own stories of trauma and abuse to us. As you journey with Asha personally, you will learn more about the jagged realities of trauma and more about Jesus’ fierce and compassionate response. Our prayer and hope is that your heart will be enlarged and that you will be emboldened to pursue rescue, justice and healing, firstly to yourself if you’ve experienced trauma, and for those who have, and who are, at this very moment, experiencing unfathomable pain.

Hope in Trauma Orientation Seminar (1.5 Hours Online)

Hope in Trauma is a seminar that invites you to participate in a conversation on the need for trauma-informed churches. In the words of Dr Langberg, ‘’Global trauma is the voice of our Saviour calling to us through suffering humanity to follow Him in the fellowship of His sufferings. The question before the church is: Will she go?’’ Explore: How did Jesus respond to trauma? Engage with Partnership opportunities to initiate trauma healing communities within your local church.

What is trauma?

  • The definitions may vary according to the fields wherein the notionis studied –medicine, psychology, neuroscience, etc. The TraumaHealing Institute offers this basic summary: ‘Trauma is a woundingof the heart.’ It says, ‘We experience trauma in the form of loss of aloved one, failures, illness, abuse, violence, and neglect, to name a few.We can be wounded by our direct experience, by witnessing someoneelse’s suffering, and even by hearing of someone’s trauma.’
  • The experience of prolonged or repeated trauma over a period of timeis understood as complex trauma. Such trauma is mostly interpersonalin nature, examples of which are childhood abuse (emotional, physical,sexual or neglect), domestic violence (being abused or witnessingabuse), bullying, physical violence, rape, sexual violence and torture.These experiences of violence and abuse render the person fearful,helpless, powerless, living in a state of heightened threat. These effectsare far more damaging when the trauma occurs in childhood.In her seminal work, Trauma and Recovery, Judith Herman,a renowned psychiatrist who has studied post-traumatic stressdisorder and the sexual abuse of women and children, describes the psychological impact of trauma.
  • Trauma is experienced as immense changes in emotion, cognition,memory and physiological arousal. Traumatised individuals mayexperience anxiety, fear, mood swings, deep sadness, nightmares andintrusive memories (long after the danger has passed, traumatisedpeople relive the event as though it were continually recurring inthe present). They have small windows of emotional tolerance. Theystruggle with shame, guilt, low self-worth, and mistrust of othersand even of themselves. They may experience difficulty in theirrelationships, in terms of intimacy, sexuality and body image. Extremes,like emotional numbing or emotional arousal, hypervigilance, despairor deadening, very rigid boundaries or the complete collapse thereof,are some of the visible effects of trauma. They tend to cope with their‘unbearable state of mind and emotions’ in a variety of ways likeavoidance, numbing, self-harm, substance abuse, promiscuity or foodabuse (bingeing, purging).

Highlights of Asha