News Release

FamNet Holds 3rd Quarterly Forum on Disaster Response

With a firm focus on helping families handle the effects of disasters, FamNet (Family Network) held its third quarterly forum with the topic “Handling Post-Disaster Trauma of Children” at the SOS Children’s Village in Alabang. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, being a member organization of FamNet, affirms the need to educate families on how to prepare for disasters and on a proactive emergency response.

Ms. Lyra Verzosa, consultant for psychosocial services taught on the different levels of anxiety and how best to address them.   She said that after a disaster strikes, there is stress, crisis and trauma.  Having gone to many areas where calamities had taken place, she saw the need for psycho-social support to children and made her services available so she could help the greater community.  She stressed  the importance of holding “ventilating” sessions where the goal was to talk about the well being rather than the victimizing of the youth. Children would say things like, “We are not defeated. We are survivors!” and “I am a tree. I am still standing.”

In the Philippines, 94 million people are served only by around 400 psychiatrists. Children, particularly, are most vulnerable when tragedies strike.  However, they show great resiliency. They are each in a different state dependent upon previous experiences. Social support systems and spiritual resources are great aids. After calamities, although children are placed in temporary shelters, they still need intervention.  They need help with food, shelter, health and educational concerns.

Ms. Verzosa concluded that disaster situations are really windows of opportunity. When working with these wonderfully resilient children, there is the possibility to understand children’s rights, be empathetic, and learn to listen.

One child wrote:

   The tragedy came

   And took away almost

   All my branches

   But God sent elements

   To revive me back.

After Ms. Verzosa’s presentation, the public affairs missionaries of the Church gave a short demonstration on how to prepare 72-hour kits. A 72-Hour Kit is a personal kit containing essential supplies that should help a person survive for at least three days (72 hours) during a disaster. Experience has shown that it usually takes about three days before government and other institutions are able to provide rescue and relief efforts to disaster victims. Two complete 72-hour kits were presented to SOS Alabang in appreciation for their great service to children.

After the presentations and luncheon, the participants were treated to a tour of one of the homes in the SOS Children’s Village. 

The first SOS Children’s Village was founded by Dr. Hermann Gmeiner in 1949 in Imst, Austria.  There are now over 500 Villages in 133 countries worldwide. SOS Children’s Villages first came to the Philippines in 1967. There are eight children’s villages here, with Alabang being the smallest with 124 children. What started with just over 1,000 children in the Philippines has grown into services for over 4,000 children.

The SOS Children's Village in Alabang was the perfect venue for this 3rd Quarterly FamNet Forum which focused on children's responses to disasters. Here, children suffering the greatest loss from disasters are given a new life within a family setting.  

 

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