| Project | Psychosocial Programmes for teachers and health workers |
| Objectives | • To provide psychosocial and emotional support to adults • Increase the capacity of health workers for psychosocial support |
| Project Partners | - |
| Activities | • Stress Debriefing • Disaster Trauma Skills Training |
| Locations | Barangay Valencia, Ormoc City, Leyte, Philippines |
| Period | November – December 2013 |
| Accomplishments | 70 teachers debriefed 40 health workers trained for Disaster Trauma Skills training |
BACKGROUND
Teachers and health workers were personally affected by the tragedy and were also expected to provide support to the communities. MERCY Malaysia believed that supporting these individuals would provide them with a better capacity to cope with the effects of Super Typhoon Haiyan.
MERCY MALAYSIA’S EFFORTS
MERCY Malaysia held two separate stress debriefing sessions with the teachers of Valencia Elementary School and Valencia National High School. The sessions were conducted on a full session where the teachers were given the opportunity to express themselves and were also provided with emotional support by MERCY Malaysia volunteer psychologists. 70 teachers benefitted from these sessions.
MERCY Malaysia also provided psychosocial support through Disaster Trauma Skills Training to 40 health workers. Two MERCY Malaysia psychologist volunteers were deployed to hold the training which was held in December. Attendees of these programmes had expressed their feelings of relief as their emotional needs were being supported in difficult times.