CBO has signed Memorandum of Understanding With Jerusalem Children and Community Development Organization for the implementation of “Group psychotherapy, Substance abuse psychotherapy and social intimacy support for Jerusalem Commercial sex workers rehab project, Bahir Dar” on December17, 2020. The project has a general purpose of changing the social and economic lives of girls and young women engaged in commercial sex. It deals with enabling girls and women get out of the commercial sex industry and engage themselves in safe, productive and socially acceptable livelihoods. The ultimate result of the project is to ensure that the target groups are not any more involved in commercial sex. The project is also aimed at prevention of commercial sexual exploitation of girls and young women. Psychosocial rehabilitation is one of the sub components of the project that aimed at creating the courage and determination among the target women and girls to get out of their desperation as well as building self-confidence and sense of self-worth. The target groups will go through intensive and continuous process of professional counseling and guidance as well as life skill and behavior change training that help them question their current situation and plan for better future. The psychosocial service also plays the roles of rehabilitating sex workers from any addictions and unhealthy habits. In order to this effect, the project will closely involve professional associations including experts in the fields of counseling, psychology psychiatry, and social work from early stages of the project. The above mentioned interventions under this sub-component are considered as critical steps towards successful social and economic reintegration of the target groups.
Specific Duties and Responsibilities of Community Boosting Organization (CBO) in this project includes
- Giving behavioral change group psychotherapy, substance abuse group and individual psychotherapy and treatments, psychiatric pharmacotherapy by psychiatrists and assistant health professionals for commercial sex workers (CSW) in scheduled way ,
- Giving Social intimacy building therapy for CSW using friendly social workers
- Formulating family and maintaining familiar relationship between social workers and CSW in rehab.
- Give close family support and follow up for those women after they graduate with respective assigned social worker individuals
- Preparing funny and educative programs including Celebrating holidays with those women in the rehab.
- Facilitate psychiatric and medical treatments in Felege Hiwot compressive specialized hospital and Tibebe Ghion Specialized Hospital.
The project has duration of 43 months covering the period between June 2019 and December 2022. A total of 695 women and girls in commercial sex industry will be benefiting from the project during the specified period. Responsibilities in CBO’s side are open for professional, financial, service and material supports.