To recover from the trauma of domestic violence and to provide long term shelter for the victims of the domestic violence, Gawailing- Happy Home was inaugurated today. Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck and the Indian Ambassasdor to Bhutan VP Haran inaugurated the happy home.
The Happy Home is located in Wangsisina. It has all the facilities in place such as recreational facilities, healthy and pristine calm environment for one to overcome their mental trauma. Gawailing is also home for children and youth, who are vulnerable to crime.
Addressing the gathering, Her Majesty Gyalyum Sangay Choden Wangchuck said happy home will open doors to the victims of domestic violence to rebuild their confidence and lives through counselling.
“This is important as they need to be treated immediately from their mental and physical and it is only then the healing process will begin. The home will also provide rehabilitation programmme for alcohol and substance abuse.
“We have witnessed too often how alcohol and substance abuse destroys not only the life but the lives of the entire family and these are our hopes that the rehabilitation will help the addicts to overcome their physical and psychological dependence on drugs and alcohol to reclaim their lives,” said Her Majesty the Gyalyum.
The Indian Ambassador to Bhutan VP Haran said, RENEW’s initiative of providing shelter to the survivors is commendable. “It is a very good initiative to intermediate them into society socially, economically and emotionally which is very important to be treated as the same citizen and unless all their needs, economically and emotionally are addressed, I don’t think it is possible to get them back to the society.”
The survivors at Happy Home will receive interventions like counselling, legal assistance, vocational trainings, literacy programme, and capacity building. Gawaling will also provide outreach programmes to end domestic violence.
Since the establishment of RENEW, the service has reached to almost 4,000 families especially women and children who didn’t have the option but to endure violence silently.
