The Children Survived, But Will They Thrive?

I have been on a journey with a little penguin named Pete now for six years. It started with a passion to mobilize volunteers to get involved in helping the most vulnerable during disasters. From the high mountains of Sichuan and the Tibetan Plateau, to the dusty tropical heat of Haiti; from the radiation threatened cities of Fukushima and tsunami wasteland of Tohoku to the tsunami-like landscape of typhoon ravished East Samar, Pete has helped thousands of children regain their smiles, reset their childhoods, and grow resilient to post-traumatic stress through OperationSAFE child trauma camps.

Child trauma left untreated increases risk for a host of social, neuropsychiatric and other medical problems, and yet millions of children have very few options for treatment.

Millions of children around the world experience trauma and have very few options for the treatment of post traumatic stress. In the aftermath of disasters local social workers are overwhelmed and in most places in the world professional therapy is either non-existent or priced far out-of-reach.

And yet, research shows that child trauma left untreated increases risk for a host of social (e.g., teenage pregnancy, adolescent drug abuse, school failure, victimization, anti-social behavior), neuropsychiatric (e.g., post-traumatic stress disorder, dissociative disorders, conduct disorders) and other medical problems (e.g., heart disease, asthma). In many circumstances this becomes a vicious cycle with exposure to trauma in childhood leading to more trauma for children in the future.

Like those taught life-saving by the Red Cross, emotional first-aid can make the difference between life and death for a child struggling in the aftermath of trauma.

OperationSAFE trains local volunteers in emotional first-aid (crisis intervention) that addresses the immediate psycho-social needs of children once they have been rescued and brought to safety. These volunteers are not therapists or trauma counselors, but like those taught life-saving by the Red Cross around the world they can make the difference between life and death for a child struggling in the aftermath of trauma.

The training raises the level of resilience not just for the children but for the whole community as volunteers learn emotional care-giving skills both for the children and for themselves. Unlike other psycho-social programs that are based on bringing in outside experts, once trained the volunteers become an ongoing resource for their communities.

What is Next?

As we have held OperationSAFE camps in locations around the world and shared the training with those who work with children we have become increasingly aware that the problem of child trauma goes far beyond natural disasters. Even now we are holding OperationSAFE camps in countries with child refugees living in detention centres and children displaced by armed conflict. From the beginning we have seen that underlying personal trauma from poverty, abandonment, exploitation or abuse can be just as devastating as that caused by natural disaster.

The challenge before us is to make emotional first-aid available for every child in the world who suffers trauma.

This is a difficult but not impossible challenge. There are already many organizations that work to rescue children (hospitals, orphanages, social workers, relief and development agencies, NGO’s, churches and missions) but lack the resources to provide trauma counseling for every child. By working with local organizations such as churches and schools to hold OperationSAFE crisis intervention camps every child in a community can have the opportunity to build resilience while those who need further care can be identified and referred for therapy. Once local volunteers are trained as emotional first-aid caregivers they can become a resource for children whose trauma is more personal in nature.

We can start now with the most urgent, the mass trauma of disaster, conflict and displacement, and as the movement grows begin to tackle the ongoing trauma of poverty, abandonment and abuse.

The children survived, but will they thrive? Many will bear the scars of trauma for the rest of their lives, but for those we can help, their lives will get a fresh start to smile again.

OperationSAFE is a community-based child trauma intervention program of CRASH Japan, a registered charity based in Tokyo, Japan.

crashjapan.com

___________________________________________________________

Jonathan Wilson leads CRASH Japan, a Tokyo-based non-profit devoted to mobilizing Christian volunteers to make a difference. He is the author of How Christian Volunteers Can Respond to Disasters: Lessons from the 2011 Japan Tsunami and the OperationSAFE Child Trauma Field Manual as well as 震災ボランティアは何ができるのか, くまのリッキーとにじいろのたまご, and しあわせな結婚レッスン12

Twitter: @operationsafe Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jonathanedwardwilson