Samoa post-tsunami relief - Counseling and Medical Supplies

SAMOA OCTOBER 15 - 21, 2009. INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF THE PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPACT OF TRAUMA AND GRIEF ON THE AFFECTED POPULATION IN THE AFTERMATH OF THE 29/09 TSUNAMI IN SAMOA.

On October 8th I received an email from Dr. William Grut, director of AMDA Canada and RoseCharities New Zealand and Canada with the initial question whether I would be available to respond to a request from the Samoan government for counselors to come to Samoa to assist in the aftermath of the tsunami. William had been corresponding with Ms. Adimaimalaga Tufuna'i, Executive Director of Women in Business Development Inc. (WIBDI) based in Apia, Samoa. From there on communication started with AMDA Headquarters Tokyo and Dr. Rasalingam from AMDA New Zealand.

On Thursday October 15th I met Mr. Nithian Veeravagu from AMDA headquarters and Reverend Kyosuke Hirano at the Airport in Auckland NZ. They were delivering a huge amount of medical supplies to Samoa. Air New Zealand at the check in counter generously waived all fees for excess baggage. Two women from WIBDI picked us up from the airport in Apia. From thereon the team of WIBDI has gone out of their way to accommodate me and their commitment to their work is incredible.

On Thursday 15th October Nithian, Hirano and myself were taken to the disaster zone by Tina from WIBDI. The devastation is huge and has left enormous scars in the landscape. The people of the villages affected by the tsunami have all moved to higher ground along the Plantation Roads where we witnessed firsthand the impact of the tsunami on the families in their temporary shelters.

The emergency relief agencies have been working very hard providing shelter, food and sanitation etc. I was struck by the expression on some of the faces, several times I witnessed the expression-less flat affect associated with shock and trauma.

The next 3 days- Friday, Saturday and Sunday, were filled with one on one counseling sessions at the request of Women in Business Development Inc. WIBDI. Most of the people who equested session time were staff of WIBDI and staff of Faataua le Ola(FLO) the lifeline counseling service in Samoa.

Since the tsunami the staff of these organisations have been working overtime in the disaster area assisting survivors and providing support to families. It became very clear that these professional carers have been affected both personally in their own families as well as are being vicariously traumatised by working constantly with, witnessing and hearing the suffering of families and individuals in deep shock and grief.

I conducted the sessions where-ever people felt comfortable or as safe as possible and we worked together in a home or office setting or in the special counseling room at the FLO office.

From these three days of hearing the stories of these people working in the fieldwork it has become quite clear to me that there is a strong need for ongoing follow up debriefing, support and training of professional staff in order for them to function well and be able to continue their field work effectively.

I was asked to conduct a workshop on the Monday for staff of the NGO,s mentioned above. FLO generously provided the workshop space. The topics were training in basic counseling skills and recognising the effects of trauma, grief and loss. The participants were all working professionally in the field in one form or another, eg. social work, counseling, pastoral care, fieldwork and management of NGO's. We covered topics like listening skills, gaining trust, recognizing signs of stress, what blocks trust and open communication etc.

Halfway through the workshop there was another earthquake. I witnessed firsthand the trauma reaction in the group. After every-one had checked whether family was ok and heard there was no tsunami warning, this amazing group of people came back together in the workshop and the rest of the time was spent in a talking circle where they shared some of their traumatic experiences.

I want to express my heartfelt thank you to this group for trusting me with their stories of loss and grief as well as showing their incredible resilience and courage.

From sitting with some of the Samoan people and hearing their trauma and grief, I would strongly recommend regular ongoing training workshops, debriefing and support. Not only for the families affected, but also particularly for the health-care professionals. The impact of this disaster will continue to be experienced over a long time, years rather then weeks or months.

Finally I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to William Grut from RoseCharities New Zealand, Nithian Veeravagu Dr. Rasalingam and Reverend Kyosuke Hirano from AMDA, Ms. Adimaimalaga Tufuna'I and her wonderful staff from WIBDI for generously giving me this opportunity to work in Samoa. Your care and attention has been wonderful.

Liese Groot-Alberts
Grief-Therapist MNZAC
Cairnhill Medical Centre
95 Mountain Road
Epsom, Auckland 1023
New Zealand.

Rose Charities Microcredit: October 2009

Rose Micro-Credit has been in operation for three years and has successfully grown to include 1000 members in 10 communities around the township of Kalmunai, on the east coast of Sri Lanka.

It's goal is to raise $CDN1m by 2010 and put this effectively to use in needy communities around Sri Lanka, all affected by the tsunami and civil war, and then to other parts of Asia where Rose Charities already has a presence.

Our experience & research has shown us that communities with 1000 active micro-credit members are able to operate its project at a sustainable level, while communities of 10,000 active micro-credit members are able to create enough surpluses that they are able to support other community needs such as education, skills training, health & welfare initiatives, so much so that they may no longer require outside support.

Rose Micro-Credit's aim is to create self sufficient communities able to operate their own community bank or credit union and Kalmunai is on course to reach this by 2014.

Rose Micro-Credit was founded by Rose Charities Canada which is based in Vancouver, BC. RCC initiated relief and community projects in Kalmunai immediately following the tsunami in 2004, offering emergency relief to refugee camps and establishing a specialised children's ward at Kalmauni Hospital. Services were added to provide trauma counselling and counselling training, education and 'sports for peace' for children, university scholarships, skills training and English programs over the last three years and most continue today. Rose Micro-Credit is one of them.

As a result Rose Charities is well entrenched & respected in this community as it provides support at many levels to families: health, education and economic development.

Rose Charities Canada supports community-based projects in eight other developing countries.

Rose Charities has received funding and support from such organizations as the Government of Canada (through its CIDA projects), Global Agents for Change, Shaughnessy Heights United Church, The Ron Burkle Foundation & Drew Katz's Infinite Possibilities Foundation in the USA, Vancouver's Gordon Keep. Very recently it has become a partner of a major Swiss philanthropic organization for its child development, education and its womens education and empowerment programs.

Rose Charities Canada is part of a larger international network of over 16 countries that is based on providing mostly medical & emergency relief support. www.RoseCharities.org

For future financial and news updates please go to our website at www.rosemicrocredit.org

Growth rates should continue with funding from the Vancouver Board of Trade bringing membership numbers to a sustainable 1000 by year end.

Substantial funding to other related Rose Charity projects in Kalmunai means that some expenses can be shared, creating greater disbursement for loans.