Counselling Vital For Emotional Healing

Counseling is a necessary restoration process for orphaned children, to help them heal emotional wounds caused by the loss of parents, abandonment or other traumatic life experiences. Without it, they could fall into depression, anxiety, behavioural challenges and long-term social difficulties, Clicks area manager for Botswana, Ms Lebopo Bulayani has said. “Grief does not disappear simply because a child is young.

When children lose parental love and guidance, they need structured emotional support to process their pain and rebuild their sense of security,” Ms Bulayani added. She was speaking at a healing session dubbed, Re Imetswe, in Gaborone, with focus on the topic: Turning Loss into Purpose. She noted that through counseling, hope and emotional stability of orphaned children could be restored.

Ms Bulayani described counselling as being more than just conversation since it equipped children with coping skills, built self-esteem and fostered resilience. “Through guided therapy sessions, group discussions and mentorship programmes, orphaned children can learn to navigate grief and develop healthier emotional responses,” she said, adding that untreated trauma could manifest in academic struggles, social withdrawal, aggression or substance abuse later in life. However, early intervention, she highlighted could reduce the risks.

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“Counselling gives children permission to feel, to speak and to heal, it helps them understand that their pain is valid and that they are not alone,” she said. Ms Bulayani encouraged families and guardians to seek professional support and not assume that children would grow out of their trauma. An orphan herself, Ms Bulayani who is also a former beauty queen, lost her mother at the age of seven.

She has since directed her energy to being an author, motivational speaker, the director of Miss Independence Kgatleng, and philanthropy. Growing up without consistent parental support exposed her to trauma, bullying and emotional isolation, experiences she believes could have been better managed with professional counseling. “There were moments when nobody asked if I was okay. My family knew what had happened to us, but there was no structured support, no counseling, no one guiding us through the pain,” said Ms Bulayani.

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