Summary 2023 and 2024 New Year wishes
Dear reader,
Having closed the year 2023, we are grateful to share with you some of our blessings, serving, learning and growth opportunities. In this retrospective, we will share the main highlights of our work in 2023 with you.
We are grateful to have people, companies, organizations, and institutions who happened to be the source of our blessings, learning and growth. It is joyful to recall those names and some faces who played the roles we memorize. We thank them all. We do not want to mention the names in this summary. We do want them to know that they are important to us.
At Peace Servant, I started the year 2023 with the loving determination to serve humanity – my motivation and inspiration in everything I do. During our new year celebration on 1 January 2023 in Amsterdam, I announced the plans and programs for the year.
Four partners namely Stichting Migrant Moeder en Kind (www.srmmk.org), Stichting Collectively Strongly Rooted (www.csrworks.org, online per February ’24), God Peace Ministry (www.gpmwork.org, online per February ’24) and Peace Servant joined strengths to work together in many areas. This union expanded our network, something we want to further strengthen the coming year 2024.
In 2024, I will continue to serve from Peace Servant to improve the well-being of the Dutch, multicultural society. Would you also like to contribute to one of the themes I am committed to? Feel free to contact me. I have 25 years of experience as a mental health professional. Although each assignment is of course customized, you can contact us for:
-
- Education in groups: lectures, trainings, workshops or peer supervision.
-
- Education at an individual level: personal guidance or coaching.
-
- Organizational and policy advice.
-
- Spiritual care, retreats and meditation for anyone in need of reflection on their life questions, alone or in groups.
-
- Research around the themes of diversity, culture of people of non-western background, and health care.
Wishing you peace,
Godian Ejiogu
Director Peace Servant
info@peaceservant.nl
www.peaceservant.nl
06 5091 4842
Training and education
Training and education were the main focus of our annual agend
YOUNG ADULTS
Our policy to give attention to young adults worked out well. We have scores of young adults who fully attended our different trainings and educational programs designed for them. Majority of them are being guided for their life dreams. Challenges there are facing ranges from identity issues, work, relationship, income, life purpose, family, re-living pains of the past, anxiety about their future and so many other lives question. The trainings and education were designed to help them acquire knowledge and understanding of the reality of life in general and themselves in particular. The struggles of life and challenges but also the joy and love to build oneself.
MENTAL WELLBEING
We had various trainings and educations on mental health at different levels. Ranging from personal to family and further to groups and community level. We also approached this topic from different cultural aspects ranging from Westerns culture to African culture. The gap between especially those two cultures received attention. We noticed that interaction between those two cultures can cause severe mental problems. Our training and education were to prevent the bias and misunderstanding that leads to such painful experience.
SPIRITUAL WELLBEING
The cognitive care of the soul is our core service. We call this spiritual care to make a difference between mental care and spiritual care. We gave trainings and educations and workshops on this topic. A total of 570 people attended our trainings, education and workshops.
COMMUNITY WELLBEING
Understanding that the community you belong to can be a healthy one or toxic one helps in making choices for your personal and community wellbeing. Our trainings and education to contribute to building healthy community was highly welcome. 240 leaders of communities participated.
CONFIDENTIALITY
Confidentiality training and education attracted 160 participants. It also helped in restoring trust and harmony in communities and relationships.
TRUE LOVE EDUCATION
Our training and education effort to restore the understanding and knowledge of love as it supposed to be. We had 320 people in attendance.
CULTURE OF HEALTH EDUCATION
Cultivation of culture of health our main focus in this service. We apply the ancient ways that worked in all ages and generations. It is one of our newest services in 2023. We had space for 15 people which was also achieved.
CULTURAL SENSITIVITY
This topic was attended by 1980 people.
MENS WORLD
This is yet a closed group of men. They are 18 men in this group. In 2024 it will become more open group. Men are educated in expressing themselves and being human.
AFRICAN LOVE
Each culture expresses their love in their own manner. Especially when confronted with other cultures, it needs to understand its own traditions and customs in that topic. It helps African to understand their own manner of expressing love and non-Africans to understand African’s. we had a total of 158 attendance.
Counseling, interventions, and guidance
Many people we coach or support face challenges in various areas of their lives. Financial stress, health problems and relationship conflicts with impact on child rearing – it is all interrelated. We work from a holistic approach that considers the whole person in all these aspects.
-
- MARRIAGE RELATIONSHIP. We supported 35 married couples in their challenges and peace was restored in their home. 24 mixed marriages from African and European culture were supported to overcome their struggle. 17 couples about to enter divorce were prevented through our effort. 6 couple regained back their children custody placed in the foster home.
-
- FAMILY RELATIONSHIP. Extended family is often the basic home community. 78 people restored their relationship with their families.
-
- CONFLICTS SITUATION. We mediated in 95 groups conflicts that led to harmony.
-
- PERSONAL LIFE ISSUES AND QUESTIONS. 470 individuals were guided in their personal life.
-
- PARENTS AND CHILDREN. 79 parents were supported in their responsibilities for their children upbringing.
-
- WORK LIFE ISSUES. 42 people were guided in their work-related issues that affect their life drastically. Some we helped find work for income. 38 people were supported while going through work related conflicts.
-
- LIFE TRANSITIONS CHALLENGES. 94 people facing life transition issues received guidance.
-
- MAKING CHOICES IN LIFE. 85 people received our guidance.
-
- LIFE CRISIS SITUATIONS. 56 people were supported by our guidance.
-
- HEALTH PROBLEMS SITUATIONS. 400 people received our support.
-
- SUICIDAL ATTEMPTS. 18 people were guided to stop the attempts, helped out of the situation that triggered the attempts, overcame the feelings and rejected the suicide thoughts.
-
- BUSINESS PROBLEMS. 10 people having challenges in their business were supported.
-
- ORGANISATIONS CHALLENGES. 8 organizations sought and got our support.
-
- RACISM. 45 victims who suffered acts of racism verbal violence at workplace were supported. 215 victims of acts of racism by health professionals while seeking for health care were supported.
-
- MATERIAL POVERTY SITUATION. 150 people were supported with our service to alleviate their problems.
-
- LONELINESS AND ISOLATION. 102 people were encouraged out of isolation.
Network & collaborations
All these people were reached through our own conferences, workshops, trainings and seminars, as well as through activities of other organizations and institutions to which we contributed. In total, we organized 65 educational moments ourselves and participated in 18 seminars/symposia/congresses and 10 workshops. We also organized 6 field trips with exposure for groups of people.
Our network and cooperation partners included mental health partners, GGD and other health care institutions, government officials, NGOs, religious organizations and institutions, academic institutions, companies and individuals.
Our work was made possible by the support of 14 sponsors and funds, 12 individual sponsors, and 4 churches and diaconal organizations. We want to express our thanks to all our supporters! 13 funding organizations unfortunately also turned down requests for support.
What else do we do?
Influencing policy makers. While representing the interests of Dutch people with African roots, we met with policy makers from five local governments, two Roman Catholic dioceses, four national and six regional organizations, and three University institutions.
Research. We started a research design on two topics we want to know more about, and will continue this research in 2024. The two central questions are: a) why are migrants’ cultural roots insufficiently or not recognized by health professionals? B) why don’t people with a migration background in the Netherlands seek justice more? In both topics, we see the serious consequences of not paying enough attention to the migration background.
Books. I have written one book this year: African Resilient Women. Available from:
To conclude: looking ahead into 2024
Do you see opportunities for collaboration? Please feel free to get in touch. In 2024, I will continue to serve from Peace Servant to improve the well-being of the Dutch, multicultural society. I look forward to continue building a just and hopeful future with many of you! I believe in the beautiful aspects of mankind.
Wishing you peace,
Godian Ejiogu
Director Peace Servant
info@peaceservant.nl
www.peaceservant.nl
06 5091 4842