Programa de intervención neuropsicológica

(Source: Author)

According to the NGO psychosocial staff, psychosocial wellbeing for them is:

“to understand the differences and difficulties of a person’s behaviour and catalyse them to overcome those differences and difficulties. This means to assist conflict and disaster affected communities to develop life skills to increase their social, economic and cultural status”

(Discussion with NGO field staff members, April 2007)

Population Interventions/ Activities organised

and conducted by the local NGO partner of GMSL under a psychosocial project

Batticaloa: Tsunami and conflict affected community members

 Listening and discussions with each group to understand psychosocial problems and develop plans for solutions

 Organisation of volunteer groups to help each other

 Monthly discussions to assess progress

 Referral mechanism to health services

 Co-ordination with government and non-governmental organisations to access necessary services such as education and livelihood support  Training activities for volunteers on

psychosocial issues, human rights, child and women’s rights, conflict resolution and community organising

This definition set the objectives of the psychosocial project:

 To understand the differences and difficulties that communities are facing.  To catalyse communities to overcome their differences and difficulties.  To provide opportunities and assist with a life of better changes.

Based on the above objectives the NGO field staff and community members identified the interventions and activities presented in Table 4.1.

These interventions and activities are mainly centred on children, and do not allow their adult family members to receive much support. However, the NGO field staff members conduct activities beyond the project activity outline; because they feel that it is not reasonable to just assist children without their adult family members.

The following are the key findings of the evaluation conducted by the DDC for GMSL:

 The NGO psychosocial project had offered much valuable knowledge and skills to the target community. The NGO staff and volunteers had been efficient in increasing their knowledge about the importance of wellbeing and effects of the conflicts and disasters in children and youth. Further, these had helped them not only to understand the children and young people, but also their own reactions to disaster events and losses. Field information suggested, however, that there was a need to improve the professional supervision and monitoring for those who are working under this project.

 Most of the community members mentioned that they had utilised the skills they received from the project with their children. About a third of all participants agreed that children and young people in the community need specific support other than education. This is due to the high level of family violence, alcohol abuse of fathers and the everyday violence of the Batticaloa district.

 Most community members agreed that it is important to consider children and young people as part of the community and provide community based psychosocial support. However, as the NGO project was supposed to focus on children and young people, it was a barrier to working with the wider community.  Communities generally had positive experiences with listening, discussions and

trainings conducted by NGO staff and volunteers. The training and discussion processes had been useful in extending the knowledge of children and young people as well as adults about the influence of the conflict and tsunami on communities.

 Most of the community members mentioned that they have someone they could contact to seek advice or assistance regarding their problems. The referral process of this psychosocial project provided assistance in contacting a psychiatrist or health expert to seek advice whenever necessary.

 The main constraints of the psychosocial project were community issues and social problems, including high levels of alcohol use among male populations, poverty among community members, and ongoing security and protection issues. Furthermore, the staff and volunteers of NGOs find the lack of training for staff and volunteers to be the biggest constraint they have.

 Observations by the researcher, as well as suggestions by the NGO staff, were that the project lacked a structural framework. In the future it would be more effective to use a mixed method approach that allows the staff members to carry out their work with communities without an agenda. The project had been developed quickly to respond to tsunami affected children and youth. It had missed the opportunity to work with the wider community.

 The final observation was that the NGO psychosocial project did not employ many available cultural tools, which were available within communities. Though there were collaborations with religious and traditional bodies within the project, it was unclear about their involvement in project activities.

Lunugamwehera

In Lunugamwehera the evaluation team conducted unstructured interviews with 78 community members, who were beneficiaries of the Kirindi Oya Irrigation and Settlement Project. The leaders of the Village Welfare Society assisted the evaluation team to access the community members. The focus of the evaluation was to understand the impact of project activities.

The following Figure 4.3 presents the distribution of community members in this evaluation:

 Children:

 Youth:

 Elderly:

 Disabled:

Being a farming community, men represent the largest group of this evaluation. Traditionally and culturally they are the bread (or rice) winners of their families and are arguably the most affected by poverty.

Table 4.2 presents the interventions and act

TABLE 4.2: INTERVENTIONS AND ACTIVITIES