Tsunami Relief
It’s been years since the tsunami took the lives of more than 300,000 unsuspecting residents of Southeast Asia. In December of 2005, the world watched in horror as every media outlet brought our attention to the suffering. But even though the camera lenses have moved on to other crises, the suffering continues.
At the New Jersey Mental Health Institute, we recognized last year that the pain of this tragedy would remain after the debris was removed and the homes are rebuilt. Both the immediate and long-term mental health needs of the tsunami survivors are unlike anything the world has ever seen.
In response, the New Jersey Mental Health Institute created the Tsunami Mental Health Relief fund to transport and support mental health experts who volunteered to go to devastated regions of Sri Lanka to train local counselors, the medical community, teachers and religious and local leaders. The resources of the fund are helping to make a difference in Sri Lanka.
In 2005, a NJMHI team traveled to Sri Lanka for two weeks to provide training. More than 100 Sri Lankans – eager for whatever mental health information they could obtain – attended the two free workshops. The number of attendees was nearly double the amount expected, but no one was turned away from the three-day sessions.
Barbara Maurer, an expert trainer with extensive experience in trauma treatment, and Veronica Jayagoda, who served as a cultural ambassador and helped bridge the language and cultural divide, were deeply affected by the experience and the lingering pain they witnessed. They visited four camps where displaced families receive barely enough food to survive and await the reconstruction of their homes. One distressed parent confided, “I once had four children, but I could only hold on to one.” Children who have lost both parents must grow up too quickly, caring for their younger siblings and struggling to maintain hope. Obviously, the pain of these losses and the continuing displacement will have a severe lifelong impact on the mental health of the survivors.
Many of the trainees had lost family members themselves, yet are working in the camps to alleviate the suffering of others. When Barbara and Veronica began each of the training sessions, they felt a great sense of despair. But after only three days, there was more positive energy, a greater sense of hope. In the southern region, attendees agreed to meet once a month to work on solutions to the on-going problems and to develop a support system for one another and those they serve.
The training began the process, focusing attention on the long-term affects of trauma and helping service providers understand the impact of grief and trauma, identify people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and to understand the interventions that are available. But the work has only begun. Attendees requested additional training to enable them to provide various forms of treatment to help the healing process.
The NJMHI will continue to work with the Sri Lankan Neurosurgery Development Foundation, the non-profit organization of doctors which served as our local connection, to develop support systems in that nation. The Institute plans to return to Sri Lanka as soon as it is financially feasible and safe to provide additional training and assistance.
Please consider how you can continue to help this effort. With only a small investment, more than 100 individuals were trained to help those traumatized by the tsunami. Each of those individuals will come in contact with hundreds of families in need of mental health services and support. We have planted the seed, but it will require continued nurturing and assistance to grow.
A tax-deductible donation of any size can make a tremendous impact. Make your check payable to the New Jersey Mental Health Institute, with “Tsunami Relief Fund” written in the memo line. Mail to The New Jersey Mental Health Institute, The Neuman Building, Suite 102, 3575 Quakerbridge Road, Mercerville, NJ 08619. If you have questions call us at 609-838-5488, ext. 207.
