Trauma Competent Care Training

This month’s blog is written by Catherine Wolter Kilkenny, a graduate of SouthLake Christian Academy and former intern/translator with Scripture Union in Peru. This spring she joined a training class along with Billy Greenman, Paths of Hope workers Joca and Linda, and employees of Hope House, one of the first children’s homes where we will begin a mentoring program.

 Covid has taken a lot from us in the past year, but recently, it gave us a pretty cool opportunity.

 Back in the spring, I was approached by Paths of Hope to be part of a group of six people who would be taking part in an Advanced Trauma Competent Care training program. Normally, this is an in-person class -- with the Spanish version only taking place in Mexico -- but because of the pandemic, Trauma Free World decided to present their training on Zoom. 

 I was extremely fortunate to be part of the group of caregivers, educators, parents, and organizations from all over Latin America who attended the 6-week program every Friday morning to learn more about trauma-informed practices when it comes to caring for the adolescents and young adults in our lives. 

 For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Catherine Wolter Kilkenny. I met Susan Smith when I moved to North Carolina with my family. She was my principal when I started attending SouthLake Christian Academy in elementary school. Thanks to her, I started going to Peru on mission trips and eventually volunteered as an intern and translator during the summers. I met Billy and Kate on those trips, as well as so many resilient kids who were navigating life after coming from trauma situations at home. 

 Today, I’m a high school Spanish teacher in central Illinois, but my love for Perú and my passion for equipping and empowering the next generation for the path God has for them never changed. While I look forward to supporting Paths of Hope to develop or decide on a curriculum that we can use to help train others in trauma-informed practices, I was most excited to meet the Peruvian women in our group that do this work every day in homes and schools. During our breakout sessions where we analyzed different cases, discussed best responses, and shared our experiences together, it was so cool to see how their expert knowledge elevated the discussion on how these new resources could be adapted to fit Peruvian culture and life. We ended our time in the program encouraged and inspired to take our ideas back to our homes or our classrooms with a new perspective on what we can do to better understand and support the youth that we work with.

I am both excited and expectant to see how this partnership between Paths of Hope and those working with today’s at-risk youth in Perú will work to best serve the children and young adults in this country that we all love so much.

Your donations to Paths of Hope support the mentoring we will begin this fall in Hope House and other children’s homes in Peru. Monthly contributions ensure that our work can continue!