Trauma Centre unveils memorial garden to foster community healing

The Trauma Centre for Survivors of Violence and Torture Trust unveiled its memorial garden to encourage healing amongst its clients.

The Memorial Garden was unveiled at the District Six non-profit at the beginning of October, which also marks World Mental Health Month.

The garden, which houses indigenous plants and flowers, was made in a wooden crate with soil and also features white rocks, where clients of the Trauma Centre can place the names of their loved ones. There are also benches for clients and visitors from the community to sit on.

This memorial garden was made possible by work done by the School of Hard Knocks (SoHK) non-profit, with its members, Charné Wyngaard and Megan Holmes, who led the project.

The SoHK has been using a room at the Trauma Centre as a training centre for the past two years. The SoHK provides mental health and youth development programmes for primary schools and high schools within the District Six, Woodstock and the Salt River areas.

Ms Wyngaard said they saw the need for the community to have a space of safety and healing. “There are clients at the Trauma Centre who are going through loss, and they have nowhere to mourn their loved ones. We thought they could have this space to connect with nature and have a place of peace,” she said.

The Trauma Centre’s community outreach representative, Brandon Williams, said it was important for them to work with various non-profits,  adding that SoHK works with youth often. “The memorial garden is a good initiative, as it will not only serve people who have experienced trauma coming to the Trauma Centre, but it will also welcome the broader community to also use their garden as well,” he said.

Visit the Trauma Centre to find out more.