Dags för examen

Nu har Marianne och jag genomfört två veckors utbildning i psykosocial krishantering för 51 deltagare. Ikväll blir det stor fest. Då kommer det att dukas på bananblad och stämningen kommer att vara hög. Människorna här är oerhört lugna, närvarande och reserverade, men när det är fest då är det verkligen hela havet stormar. Musiken är härlig, det dansas inte många steg, men man rör på överkroppar, armar och händer och rörelsen är hela tiden hav, vågor, kanoter och paddlande.

I morgon, lördag, reser deltagarna hem till sina drabbade öar och på måndag reser vi med tre lokala kollegor runt till de drabbade öarna. Syftet med vår rundresa är att stödja och handleda grupperna som kommer att arbeta med krishantering ute på öarna. Vi kommer att åka i små båtar med utombordare och kommer att besöka öarna Ranungga, Vela la Vela, Simbo och Gizo dit vi anländer onsdag den 20 juni. Därifrån flyger vi i ett litet plan till huvudstaden Honiara där vi kommer att vila ut innan vi flyger hem till Sverige, söndag den 24 juni, via öriket Vaunatu, Brisbane, Australien, och Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Här finns ett utdrag ur vår rapport och där det går att läsa vad vi gjort under utbildningen.

”During the time 29th of May to 8th of June we have been counselling and training 51 participants, women and men. The main purpose of the training has been to train counsellors to visit affected communities and provide community based trauma counselling as well as in the long term perspective training trainers.

The paricipants were trained in community based psychosocial approach in humanitarian assistance. The training has been performed through lectures, group sessions, presentations, practices and role plays.

The ACT facilators guide ”Community based psychosocial work in humanitarian assistance” has been the main guide during the training and the following subjects have been included:
 Code of conduct in humanitarian assistance including the ACT code of conduct on sexual exploitation, abuse of power and corruption
 Trauma counselling
 Assessment traumas in and psychosocial needs
 Capacity building
 Definition of crisis, trauma and disaster
 Emotional first aid
 Coping mechanisms and skills
 Resilience factors for individuals as well as the community
 Active listening
 Defusing and debriefing
 Spiritual life in disasters
 Assisting family and children
 Gender
 Help to helpers (staff support)
 Community Assessment, including identifying needs in different groups(children, women, men, handicapped, single parents, elderly, minorities, etc.)
 Methods of community participation, networking and mapping of resources
 Future projections for trauma counselling needs
 Emergency preparedness and response.

The training has not only been training, it has also been a part of counselling for the participants of which several had been traumatized in the April earthquake and tsunami. The trauma counselling has been done through group talks, debriefing sessions, individual talks and all being together as a community and doing things together; eating, singing, worshiping, physical exercises and sports and through community work (gardening and clean up).

On Friday the 8th of June a grand graduation was held with attendance from the public as well as invited representatives from local authorities and organizations, police, businesses and the local hospital.

One afternoon we also had a training session for 32 teachers at the local primary and secondary schools about psychosocial activities especially referring to children and school staff.”