Reigniting the Light:
Healing War Trauma through the Spark of Life Philosophy in Kosovo

Selvi Izeti Çarkaxhiu
Psychologist and Spark of Life Master Practitioner
Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT)

More than two decades after the war in Kosovo, the wounds have not faded. The invisible scars still live on—in the silent pain reflected in the faces of survivors, in the eyes of mothers who lost everything, in the guarded hearts of men who carry the weight of shame for what was done to them, and in the broken voices of women who endured the unimaginable cruelty of rape.

Every day at the Kosova Rehabilitation Centre for Torture Victims (KRCT), we meet people whose lives were shattered by violence, torture, rape, forced displacement, the loss of loved ones, abandonment. They are survivors. But too often, they are not treated as such. Instead, they are met with silence, stigma, and a lack of sensitive and sustained support from the systems meant to help them.

As a psychologist, I’ve worked with survivors of torture and sexual violence for over 19 years. I have held the trembling hands of women raped in front of their children. I have sat beside men who stayed silent for decades, finally daring to speak. I have listened to hundreds of stories told with eyes cast downward, voices cracking under the weight of shame.

Many survivors say the same thing in different words: “I feel destroyed.” I’m like a dead person among the living.”

That is where the Spark of Life Philosophy begins, not with fixing, diagnosing, or rushing, but with a simple, profound promise:

You are still here.
You still matter.
We are here for you.

When Dr. Feride Rushiti and I became Spark of Life Master Practitioners, we didn’t just learn a new approach, but we embraced a humanitarian philosophy that dignifies every human being, no matter how silenced, traumatized, or forgotten is. This was not something foreign to us. It felt like something we had always known but never had words for. The Spark of Life Philosophy is a language of the heart, the one that speaks beyond symptoms or scars. A way of being that reflects the deep kind of healing Kosovo still needs.

We have integrated the Spark of Life Philosophy into every part of our trauma-informed care.
At KRCT, it is not something we simply apply, but it is something we live.

It shapes the tone of our voice, the way we approach survivors, the way we welcome them into a room, the way we shake and gently hold their hands, offer a tea  and the way we stay present in silence when words are too painful to speak.

These small gestures become bridges to safety. They are often the first steps toward healing.

In a country where justice remains incomplete, where survivors often feel forgotten, the Spark of Life Philosophy restores presence, connection, and hope. It helps people move from merely surviving… to living again.

With Spark of Life Philosophy, we see beyond the trauma. And we care for each other as colleagues. This work is heavy. We carry so many unspoken stories. The Spark of Life Philosophy reminds us that we, too, are human. It helps prevent burnout. It helps us stay connected to why we do this work.
We are honored to be part of the global Spark of Life Community.
We carry this light forward, for every survivor who thought their story had ended, and for every spark still waiting to be reignited.

To learn more about the Spark of Life Philosophy in Kosovo: