| HIV/AIDS |
|
The Effects of the Civil War and Poverty
The effects of the civil war in the period 1981 to 1991 and the events that followed are still very evident in the health of the population. It has also been the experience of many African countries (for example Rwanda) that the effects of these long term tragic events do not go away unless dealt with. It was thought at one time that the passage of time itself would produce healing, but this is not the experience of many countries including Somaliland and Rwanda.
It is estimated that in Somaliland 80% of men and 25% of women chew Kat in order to relieve depressed feelings, traumatic memories, and inner emotional and psychological pain. Kat is a leafy plant that produces elevated feelings when chewed. It also contributes to cardiovascular disease, decay of teeth and duodenal ulcers. To the people who chew Kat, however, it is not a problem, but a solution to pain of their deep inner needs and problems. The benefits to them far outweigh the negative effects.
A further serious complicating factor is the loss of hope because of poverty and lack of work. Because of high unemployment many hours are spent every day by men and some women gathering in groups to talk and chew Kat, and to find relief and support from their overwhelming inner problems.
Meeting the Needs of the Whole Person
No amount of Trauma counselling can significantly help people when they do not have water to wash with, adequate food to eat, accommodation with light, and have no hope of getting work. It is therefore vital that at least equal emphasis is placed on providing Vocational Skills Training and Work Opportunities as is being placed on trauma awareness and Counselling and HIV/AIDS Awareness. No-one can recover or change their lifestyles without giving them hope and support to start taking charge of their lives.
Much of the work done by NGO’s in the areas of HIV/AIDS and psychosocial support can be rendered largely ineffective if the basic needs of the people are not being met and there is no hope of work and improvement in their situation.
Helping Teachers to Understand and Identify Trauma
The lack of understanding of the effects of trauma, especially in children, can result in very inappropriate measures being used by those in authority, such as school teachers. Cases have been discovered where children suffer extreme violence from teachers in schools and where they are even tied up and left for long periods.
Gargaar carries out trauma awareness campaigns in Somaliland schools in order to help teachers to recognize the source of problem behaviour, and also to understand appropriate measures to cope with it.
Helping Establish Best Practice in Schools for Trauma
Gargaar also co-operate with the Government in establishing good practice standards in schools in dealing with traumatised children. There has already been significant improvement in some schools because of the influence of Gargaar’s work.
Gargaar has received support from its partners to train school teachers in how to identify children suffering from trauma. A traumatised child will show signs of diminishing activity in the school, poor attention, lack of concentration and irritability. These children find it difficult to do their homework and learn in class due to nightmares and lack of enjoyment and interest in education due to the anxiety.
Gargaar currently provides three one day workshops a year for school teachers in order to train them to be acquainted with trauma and its prevention. These workshops focus on the following topics:
- Processing of the teachers own difficult experiences.
- Children’s’ needs.
- Children’s reactions and problems;
- how to identify signs and symptoms of stress in children;
- Normalizing children’s reactions (i.e. normal reactions to abnormal situation).
- Natural coping mechanisms
Additional topics will be added as required, such as psychosocial issues among vulnerable and orphaned children.
Impact of the work of Gargaar
The impact of the work of Gargaar in trauma awareness is evident in the changes in people’s attitudes, general awareness and to an extent behavioural change in regards to people affected by trauma. Some of the changes and impact brought about by the work of Gargaar are as follows:
- Education of many parents on effects and signs of trauma in children from radio, leaflets and other awareness Medias
- Teachers trained and acquainted in how to identify trauma in school children and trained how to work with the parents of the children and relaxation techniques
- Recognition by MOE of the effect of trauma in the education of children, abolishment of corporal punishment and proper selection criteria developed for selecting teachers to be trained in psychosocial support
- improvement in grades of traumatised children reported by many teachers and schools to Gargaar
|
