Glimpses of Hope

Barbara Ferguson OAM is an academic who has for decades been working throughout the world on behalf of those who have had their lives turned upside down by war and other trauma. In recent years she has been going to the Democratic Republic of Congo where she has conducted trauma counselling workshops, especially for those working with rape-torture survivors. Dr Ferguson became involved with a group of Congolese Pygmies in the Masisi region organising sponsorship for their children to attend local schools securing land to resettle people denied access to their traditional homes and way of life in the forests. She works with local agencies to provide shelter, literacy and income generating projects to ensure the survival of these ‘first people’.