Reuters AlertNet Full site
Homepage | Newsdesk | NGO Latest | Crisis briefings | Country profiles | MediaWatch | Jobs | Alerting | Login

NEWSDESK

UNICEF supports psychosocial relief in child-friendly safe spaces
18 May 2009 22:06:53 GMT
 Source: UNICEF

Background

•  Children

MORE >>
By Becca Journey

NEW YORK, USA, 18 May 2009 – Worldwide, an estimated 18 million children are currently displaced by armed conflict and natural disasters. As soon as immediate health and safety concerns have been attended to, emergency situations require a special level of care for emotionally distressed children.

VIDEO: Watch now

Children's overall feelings of well-being are intimately tied to their sense of normalcy and routine. Through child-friendly safe spaces in crisis and post-crisis situations, UNICEF provides educational equipment and materials to re-establish learning and recreational activities, as well as psychosocial support teams of professionals to help children cope.

This year in the Gaza Strip, for example, UNICEF-supported psychosocial programmes will reach tens of thousands of children who experienced more than three weeks of intensive bombardment and military operations last December and January. The conflict left many children with acute levels of stress, fear and anxiety.

Painful memories

Children who witness armed conflict or are displaced by natural disasters often develop post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD. This disorder affects the entire body, as symptoms manifest not only psychologically but physically and neurologically as well.

Signs of PTSD may include impaired concentration, anti-social behaviour and avoidance of places that trigger painful memories. Children may also have vivid and recurrent nightmares in which they re-experience distressing scenarios.

To help address such symptoms, child-friendly safe spaces provide opportunities to bundle aid services in a supportive environment that is comfortable for children.

'A very lively and friendly place'

UNICEF's Senior Advisor for Child Protection in Emergencies, Bo Viktor Nylund, recalled a recent visit to a UNICEF-supported safe space in the Darfur region of Sudan.

As children played together in the centre, he said, "there was a health worker who came in and provided polio immunization, because it's a place where a lot of children gather, and some of these services can be done there because those are children that don't necessarily go to school.

"So it's a very lively and friendly place with children running around and a lot of happiness, in a way, under very difficult circumstances," added Mr. Nylund.

Benefits of art therapy

Art activities are also frequently utilized in UNICEF-supported safe spaces. Art therapy is a developmentally appropriate way to help children overcome psychological wounds and restore a sense of normalcy in chaotic situations.

Experts say that creative activity increases brain levels of serotonin, a hormone associated with feelings of well-being.

"Art gives children a sense of control," explained art therapist Deborah Farber. Children are remarkably resilient, she noted, adding that "most can get over post-traumatic stress disorder if they have a very good support system – parents, caretakers – and if they have good coping skills."

Psychological first-aid

Following the Indian Ocean tsunami that struck in December 2004, UNICEF Thailand provided displaced children with psychosocial aid that often took the form of art therapy, storytelling and games.

Counsellors at a school in Thailand's Ranong province encouraged students to create 'before' and 'after' drawings of their destroyed village. Through their coloured pencils and paints, children began to confront the enormity of distress and displacement, and in doing so, initiated the healing process.

This type of 'psychological first-aid' is a crucial first step in therapeutic interventions. Long-term supportive networks of parents, caretakers and teachers are equally instrumental in rebuilding children's lives.





AlertNet news is provided by
Email this article       Send comments

Topics

•  Children

•  Refugees & displacement

MORE >>

NGO latest

•  More food, water desperately needed in Sri Lanka – LWR responds
LWR - USA

•  New wave of displaced persons in Sri Lanka/ Malteser International calls for donations
Malteser International - Germany

•  SRI LANKAN CAMPS UNABLE TO COPE WITH HUGE INFLUX OF PEOPLE FLEEING CONFLICT ZONE
Christian Aid - UK

•  Sri Lanka: Welthungerhilfe welcomes the cessation of hostilities
Welthungerhilfe / German Agro Action - Germany

•  Children are bearing the brunt of the humanitarian crisis as Sri Lanka's conflict comes to a brutal conclusion.
Save the Children UK

MORE >>

Latest news

•  Pakistan: Taliban, Army Must Minimize Harm to Civilians

•  UNICEF supports psychosocial relief in child-friendly safe spaces

•  Over 11 mln displaced in Central, East Africa - UN

•  Swat Refugees, by Jessica Partnow, World Vision Report

•  Afghan rights group finds lower civilian toll, by Jason Motlagh, The Washington Times

MORE >>

UNICEF

Background information

Topics
Children Refugees & displacement

Related articles

Breaking stories
 Pakistan: Taliban, Army Must Minimize Harm to Civilians (1 minute ago)

UNICEF supports psychosocial relief in child-friendly safe spaces (1 minute ago)

AlertNet insight
 Donors urged to tackle leading killer of under-fives - reports (1 minute ago)

Aid agency news feed
 More food, water desperately needed in Sri Lanka – LWR responds (1 minute ago)

Blogs
 Time for aid community to start pulling together on Sri Lanka (1 minute ago)

Maps
 Newly erected IDP shelters located within New Safety Zone (NSZ) - Mulattivu District, Sri Lanka (1 minute ago)


Del.icio.us Del.icio.us  |   Digg Digg  |   NewsVine NewsVine  |   Reddit Reddit   
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-18T212755Z_01_ISL15_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ISL15.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-18T173228Z_01_ISL16_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ISL16.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-18T172748Z_01_ISL14_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLANCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ISL14.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-18T172451Z_01_ISL13_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ISL13.htm
Thumb for /thefacts/imagerepository/RTRPICT/2009-05-18T123738Z_01_ISL07_RTRIDSP_2_PAKISTAN-VIOLENCE_mainimage.jpg|/thenews/pictures/ISL07.htm

An internally displaced boy, fleeing military operations in Buner, stand in line to receive tea at a UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) camp in Takht Bai district in Mardan, ...


More pictures | Galleries
Disclaimers |  Copyright |  Privacy |  Contact Us |  Feedback |  About Us |  RSS XML

Last updated:Mon May 18 23:21:53 2009