Trainings

Three trainings in community-based psychosocial support have been performed. Two through the UNICEF Cluster for 36 male community leaders in Osh and Jalalbad. One training have been performed for ACT Alliance local partner staff members, 2 men and 14 women. Participants were active and eager to learn more.

The trainings have been good but it is not easy. The awareness of psychosocial support is new and has yet do be discovered. Local partners and other NGO’s are very busy in a hectic work with reconstruction of houses and occupied by distribution of winter packages before winter. There are also many trainings going on within UN organisations and NGO’s, so there is not much space in time tables for new things. When it come to questions of humanitarian aid and support the general thinking is very materialistic (thanks to Karl Marx, one participant said) and the good humanitarian aid worker is seen as a person coming with many packages.

One difficult issue in planning and performing trainings is that time and situation is not always ready for having community leaders from different ethnic groups at the same spot. Tensions are still very high. Only time and working on humanitarian holistic basic needs can achieve better circumstances for meeting points

We continue, in dialogue, with partners to pinpoint training needs in community based psychosocial support and also how I can mentor and coach persons with key functions in the communities.

Though the psychosocial awareness is new staff members and volunteers are very eager to talk about this issue and prepared increasing knowledge and practice.