Background on the Workshops
THE PROGRAM:
The psychosocial program is a continuation of a program run by CARE in the Cegrane refugee camp in Macedonia. From June 18 - 20, 1999, CARE trained some 80 Kosovar teachers - refugees themselves-who were living and teaching in the camp. The training included group work, role playing and expressive techniques such as drama and art - lessons which the teachers in turn used to reach out to traumatized children and adolescents.
Teachers also were taught how to form peer support groups for sharing experiences among school workers. The participants, who ranged from primary school teachers to university professors, represented more than half of Cegrane's teacher population. By training these teachers, CARE was able to reach out to, and provide psycho-social support for, more than 2,400 Kosovar refugee children attending 40 different "tent schools" at Cegrane.
The current program is taught in four modules, or workshops, two of which deal specifically with child trauma, and the other two with adult trauma. The first workshop was held in November, and focussed on child trauma. This workshop, which focuses on adults, will cover topics such as:
- Traumatic experience and psychological traumas in adults
- Resiliency and coping strategies
- Psychological trauma and the family
- Women's traumatic experiences
- The traumatized community
- Basic communication skills for dealing with traumatized people
The workshop takes the form of short lectures on theory and participatory methods, such as group discussions and role-play.
The program is being carried out in close cooperation with the Ferizaj Institute of Pedagogy. Some 16,000 school children are expected to benefit from the program.
TRAUMA:
Eighty percent of those who suffer from trauma recover on their own, with the help of family, friends, informal support networks, etc. The other 20 percent - 5 percent of which suffer from severe post-traumatic stress - require professional help.
The consequences of ignoring trauma are serious. Posttraumatic stress can engender a number of disorders, which fall into four categories:- Emotional: feelings of sadness, anger, despair, guilt, helplessness
- Behavioral: social isolation, withdrawal, aggressiveness
- Cognitive: loss of concentration, loss of memory, inability to perform simple tasks
- Biological: shaking, headaches, and psychosomatic symptoms.
Beyond these specific symptoms, the impact on a person's life of untreated trauma is severe. It prolongs the recovery period for the whole community, not just the individual. It affects people's relationships - particularly their family life - and people's ability to work. This, in turn, can often lead to abuse of drugs, alcoholism and violence.
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