Institute Focuses on Tsunami Aidworkers
 On December 26, 2004 the second most powerful earthquake on record displaced hundreds of cubic miles of seawater and sent deadly waves fanning out across the Indian Ocean. Over the course of four hours these waves wreaked havoc along the coastlines of 12 countries including Indonesia, Thailand and Sri Lanka. At least 300,000 people died that day - 225,000 of them in Indonesia alone.
Aid agencies and thousands of humanitarian workers around the world are rising to the challenge of getting relief supplies and, eventually, reconstruction assistance to thousands of miles of devastated coastline simultaneously. The cleanup alone will take months. In Indonesia, for example, relief workers and volunteers are still recovering bodies at the rate of 500 a day. It is now estimated that the task of recovering the dead in Indonesia will still not be completed by June, and it goes without saying that it doesn’t end there. Caring for the orphans, rebuilding homes and schools, re-establishing productive and thriving communities...this will take years.
It will also take the energy and efforts of thousands of aid workers. Many of these aid workers will be locals. In some areas these aid workers have lost friends or members of their own extended family. Some of them have lost their own homes. While they are busy facing death and destruction and working to help others, many will be dealing with their own private despair.
The Headington Institute has already provided dozens of hours of consulting services to humanitarian organizations involved in tsunami relief projects. In addition, staff will be traveling to Asia several times during the coming months to offer counseling, training and other services.
In April, both the Executive Director and the Director of Training will be in Indonesia. Lisa McKay will lead a team providing training and counseling services to humanitarian workers in Jakarta and Banda Aceh. Meanwhile, Jim Guy will be debriefing teams of aid workers who were first on the ground in some of the hardest-hit areas in the province of Aceh.
In May, Dr. Guy will also be in New York City to consult with program directors of several large relief and development projects in the Asia tsunami regions.
SO FAR THIS YEAR ...
The Headington Institute has:
-
Provided more than 50 hours of orientation, counseling, and debriefing to humanitarian staff working in crisis situations.
-
Provided numerous hours of consulting services to humanitarian organizations involved in tsunami-relief work.
-
Facilitated a retreat for a number of domestic relief workers involved in the Florida clean-up.
Conducted 4 training workshops on traumatic stress in the humanitarian field.
ALSO IN THE NEWS...
-
The Institute recently received grants from the Hilton Foundation and the Laidig Fund and the to support the Helping Kenya’s Helpers Project.
-
Dr Lloyd McKay has been nominated to join the Board of the Headington Institute. Dr. McKay, an Australian, worked for many years as a principal economist for the World Bank.
Executive Director, Dr Jim Guy, will be in Washington D.C. in March to consult with government officials regarding standards for staff care.
-
The Headington Institute website will soon be updated with a brand new look and lots of new resources.
-
The Institute is now able to accept online donations by credit card on our website.
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
 The recent tsunamis have resulted in a relief and recovery effort without precedent. Some aspects of this response have been ideal. Professional humanitarian workers are now spread across the region, well-funded and adequately equipped to begin the long process of rebuilding the cities and villages that were swept away. But early reports from the field suggest that the workers are facing a growing crisis of their own. Burying tens of thousands of bodies, interviewing hundreds of thousands of victims, and confronting utter devastation extending to the horizon in all directions has seriously traumatized many first responders. We are providing counseling and training programs to help humanitarian workers cope with this distress. In addition, the Headington Institute is leading an initiative to establish "minimum standards" and "best practices protocols" to guide relief organizations in their efforts to care for staff returning from this deployment. Like no time before, your suggestions, gifts, and referrals will help us in this latest effort to “care for the caregivers.” Thanks.
ONLINE TRAINING COMING SOON
 An interactive online curriculum on humanitarian work and stress is being designed by Institute staff for humanitarian workers who are interested in the topic but have limited access to training and resources.
Understanding and coping with traumatic stress, the first module in the series, is scheduled to go online later this month. The goal of this module is to provide an overview of traumatic stress related to humanitarian work, and to offer helpful coping strategies for dealing with it.
Additional modules in this online series will focus on: Trauma and critical incident care; Re-entry issues and work-life balance; Coping with vicarious trauma; and Humanitarian work, traumatic stress, and spirituality.
Visit us at www.headington-institute.org to check out these new programs.
KENYA CHALLENGE MATCHED
 The goal of raising $17,500 to meet the matching challenge grant offered by a major U.S. foundation to fund the Helping Kenya’s Helpers Project has been reached! Thanks to additional foundation grants and a number of donations from individuals interested in supporting this project, the challenge grant was matched six months early!
Phase 1 of the Helping Kenya’s Helpers project will therefore commence in August 2005 with a week-long series of training workshops for mental health professionals and pastors in East Africa. Workshops will focus on the development, diagnosis, treatment and prevention of acute stress, vicarious trauma and chronic stress. They are designed to equip mental health professionals and pastoral staff to better understand and support humanitarian workers in Africa.
Phase 2 of this project is scheduled for 2006. During this phase, Headington staff will collaborate with participants from the Phase 1 training series to provide stress and trauma management training for humanitarian workers in East Africa.
During the coming years we expect that the Helping Kenya’s Helpers pilot project will provide a model for similar Helping the Helpers projects throughout Africa and elsewhere in the world. Thanks to all who have partnered with us in this work by generously donating time and money. Your support is invaluable.
CLINICAL ASSOCIATES PROGRAM
The Headington Institute is extending its worldwide network by setting up the Clinical Associates Program. Clinical Associates are licensed mental health professionals with significant international experience who partner with the Institute by providing counseling to humanitarian workers. They will accompany Institute staff on short-term domestic and international service trips and also provide services long-distance via phone and email.
Through the Clinical Associates Program the Institute will harness the knowledge of a growing pool of experienced clinicians, and expand its ability to provide the best quality service to an increasing number of humanitarian workers.
The Headington Institute ...
caring for caregivers worldwide
by providing training, counseling and consulting
The Headington Institute is a federally recognized nonprofit corporation with 501.C.3 status. All contributions are fully tax deductible. Please contact us for more information on how to become a partner in this important work.
|