MEDIA RELEASE
South Africa’s Hidden Epidemic: Trauma Touches Every Second of Our Lives
Thursday, 30th July
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Throughout South Africa, trauma remains an invisible epidemic affecting millions in visible and unseen ways—every second, a citizen is affected. Whether through personal grief, poverty, crime, systemic injustice, or generational violence, trauma changes the way we think, feel, eat, move, and connect with others. Its long-term effects extend far beyond isolated incidents, destabilising families, schools, communities, and frontline services. Trauma isn’t only about extreme events; it also involves subtle, often silent wounds that build up over time, leaving deep psychological and physiological scars.
Khulisa Social Solutions (Khulisa), in collaboration with Nanete Minaar, recently conducted an intensive two-day Healing Trauma training to tackle this widespread crisis. Led by trauma expert Nanette Minnaar, the training provided 15 frontline NGO practitioners and social workers from five provinces with vital knowledge, healing techniques, and practical tools for trauma-informed practice.
Participants reported profound personal breakthroughs, including:
- Emotional release and healing of long-suppressed grief and PTSD.
- Increased understanding of trauma’s impact on the brain and behaviour.
- Confidence to implement group debriefings and structured dialogue circles.
- Motivation to build trauma-sensitive environments in their communities and workplaces.
The training covered Big-T and little-t trauma, as well as collective and intergenerational trauma, and introduced practical models such as Nelson’s 4-phase Post-Traumatic Growth Path: Deal, Feel, Heal, and Seal. Participants also took part in restorative dialogue circles and trauma narrative writing—tools they are now applying in their own organisations.
Scaling Up: A National Rollout Begins
Due to high demand and positive feedback, Khulisa will start implementing the Healing Trauma training across its provincial areas in the coming months. The programme will focus on frontline professionals—including social workers, healthcare workers, police officers, community development workers, and NGO personnel—who regularly face and manage secondary trauma in their daily work.
This effort is not just about helping individuals. It’s about creating a trauma-aware society where healing, empathy, and resilience are embedded within our culture. Participants have asked for ongoing mentorship, access to facilitator manuals, and the integration of trauma-informed practices into organisational policies.
About us
Khulisa Social Solutions is a South African non-profit organisation with nearly thirty years of experience in building safer, more cohesive communities through innovation, partnership, and local leadership. Our Collaborative Implementation Model (CIM) is a structured, bottom-up approach that puts communities in the driver’s seat—guiding them through asset mapping, participatory workshops, and co-design processes to develop solutions that are locally owned, sustainable, and investment-ready. We do not believe in simply delivering services to communities; instead, we aim to help communities build their capacity to create for themselves.
For media inquiries, training information, or partnership opportunities, please contact:
Lesley Ann van Selm
Managing Director | Khulisa Social Solutions
info@khulisa.org.za | www.khulisa.org.za
082 601 2299
