JANUARY- FEBRUARY 2005
vivo workshop on trauma, Colombo, Sri Lanka

In response to a high-level national request, vivo carried out a 7-day workshop entitled ?Psycho-Social Assistance of Children in the Aftermath of Tsunami Disaster? , at the National Institute for Education (NIE) in Colombo.

The 52 participants and resource persons composed of members of the NIE, Ministry of Education, the University of Colombo, NGOs, practicing counselors and other psycho-social and education experts. The participant-focussed, inter-active training focused on concepts around Child Mental Health & Disaster, Crisis Intervention & Psychological First Aid, Grief & Loss, Depression, Acute Stress Reactions & Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children, Translation of a validated Child Trauma Screening Tool into Sinhalese, Interviewing Code of Conduct & Ethical Principles, Diagnosis of PTSD and Helping the Helper and was intermixed with 2 field days in worst affected schools and camps along the Southern coast near Ambalangoda (site of the train accident) and Galle town (destroyed Sudharma M.V.).

The last day was focused on planning sessions, which produced a ?Call for Action? and an impressive and detailed nationwide ?Action Plan?, which implementation will be guided by a task force comprised of 9 senior core group members of the workshop from different institutions.

Very first preliminary and still rough data analysis of the interview information collected during the 2 workshop field days by participants (204 interviewed school children, aged 7-14) shows a rate of approximately 30% of PTSD in school-children (compared to 42% in the North). It is also obvious that compared to the North-Eastern war experiences, the Southern children's other traumatic events were mainly related to domestic violence and car accidents. As data from Point Pedro reveals that a history of previous war experiences turns out to be the main predictor for PTSD, preliminary data analysis from the South supports this finding (rate being halved). Nevertheless, 30% of PTSD is a drastic figure that must urge immediate and long-term planning and implementation of measures for adequate mental health care.