Ericsson Ng’etich
Child Protection Assistant, Danish Refugee Council, Kenya
Ericsson Ng’etich is a Child Protection Assistant with the Danish Refugee Council and is also working to complete his masters degree in psychology from Liverpool John Moores University. He works within the Kakuma refugee camp in Northwestern Kenya, one of the largest refugee camps, which houses more than 160,000 refugees and asylum seekers from countries such as South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Uganda and Rwanda.
Ericsson began his career in 2010 as a community household volunteer, coordinating services for vulnerable children located in the mountainous region of Western Kenya. He went on to volunteer with the International Committee of the Red Cross as a youth coordinator in Bungoma County. In this role he worked with youth on climate-change advocacy, coordinated sexual and reproductive health programs, coordinated activities to help youth generate income and provided psychosocial support. Realizing his interest in helping others through his volunteer work, Ericsson decided to obtain his bachelor’s degree in counseling and psychology.
In his current role, Ericsson provides psychosocial support and case management services for unaccompanied minors, works on gender-based violence prevention and response activities, helps empower youth through the development of life skills, and facilitates activities to help all communities residing in the camp to live and respect one another. Ericsson notes that the most difficult component of his job is the high number of cases and the issues they present, which occasionally leave him feeling overwhelmed. Most cases he deals with are complex and need to be completed in a timely manner. Such cases are often related to issues such as drug and substance abuse, all forms of violence, abuse and neglect, and suicidal thoughts and attempts. These are coupled with issues related to scarcity of necessities and continual conflicts among the different communities within the camp. Despite such challenges, he is thankful to the Danish Refugee Council for the immense and continuous support provided to him, to ensure that all cases are solved in a timely, appropriate and effective manner.
A particularly challenging case Ericsson recalls was that of a 15-year-old girl who had fled her country of origin because of conflict. Upon arriving to the camp, the girl was seduced into a sexual relationship with a 21-year-old male, which she felt she could not resist because of her vulnerable situation. The child conceived and experienced a traumatizing delivery resulting in the death of the baby and the removal of her womb due to infection and excessive bleeding. With support from the Danish refugee Council, Ericsson initiated immediate psychological first aid and trauma counseling over the course of several weeks as well as ensured that the girl had all of her basic needs met (including food, clothing, medicine, etc.).
“It took time but eventually the girl began to smile again and even returned to school,” Ericsson says, “I see her in school smiling and interacting with others every time I conduct follow-up visits, and that is the most fulfilling part for me. Because I also smile and I feel successful.”
