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Photo: Raul Vasquez for Mercy Corps
Chengdu, China — One month after the catastrophic earthquake that rocked the Sichuan Province of China, Mercy Corps is training local mental health professionals to support the special needs of thousands of children traumatized by the disaster.
Mercy Corps has launched two youth psychosocial programs. The first, called Comfort for Kids, combines a basic trauma training workshop with a workbook called "My Earthquake Experience: 5•12 Wenchuan Earthquake." The workbook helps children tell their story about their experience of the earthquake in a safe environment moderated by an adult caregiver.
The second program, called Moving Forward, uses sports and games to facilitate discussions of the core themes of constructive communication, self-esteem, resiliency, trust, and team building.
"Providing psychosocial support to traumatized children within the first four-to-eight weeks following a disaster can prove critical to preventing symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) from escalating into chronic PTSD," said Griffen Samples, an expert in post-traumatic who is setting up Mercy Corps' program. Samples has led similar efforts for Mercy Corps in New York City after 9/11 and on the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.
Earlier this week, the agency's emergency response experts trained 40 psychologists and graduate students at Sichuan Normal University and Southwest Normal University in post-trauma approaches they have used successfully in war zones and disaster areas around the world. The Chinese government recognizes of the need for mental health services to individuals suffering quake-related trauma and Mercy Corps is helping meet local officials' calls for additional trauma support.
"Sports and games create a fun, familiar context for healing in children and youth," said Matt Streng, the agency's expert in health, youth, and sports, who is on the ground in Chengdu setting up Moving Forward.
Consistent with Mercy Corps' practices worldwide, the Comfort for Kids and Moving Forward programs are being implemented in a sustainable way that builds local capacity. To that end, the strategy has been to conduct "master trainings" to teach people how to train caregivers in the methodology. The caregivers will then practice the methodology with trauma-affected youth.
This week's training was originally planned as a training for 10-20 professionals, but the demand was so great that more than twice as many people crowded the sweltering classroom, perching on stools and sweating without complaint for the duration of the full-day workshop.
Sichuan University and other local organizations have requested that Mercy Corps expand its training programs to help meet the overwhelming need for post-trauma expertise.
Mercy Corps is currently accepting donations for humanitarian assistance to earthquake survivors. Mercy Corps and reputable local partner organizations will monitor distribution of donations.
HOW TO HELP:
Mercy Corps
China Earthquake Fund
Dept NR,
PO Box 2669
Portland, OR 97208
www.mercycorps.org - or - 1-800-852-2100
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