After
the train crash in Egypt on 21 August 2006, which left 58 persons
dead, Egyptian Red Crescent volunteers realized the importance
of being trained in psychological support, to be able to deliver
better support to the relatives of victims to decrease their
psychological pain after the deaths of loved ones.
One of the volunteers, who is a trainer in this field, brought
forward an initiative to train the other volunteers in psychological
support to strengthen their personal and professional skills.
It was decided that the trainings should be based on peer education,
given by volunteers for volunteers.
The result was the organization of two workshops, during which
40 volunteers representing almost all the branches of the Egyptian
Red Crescent, were trained. A special emphasis was put on the
participation of volunteers from disaster prone areas, such
as the South Sinai area It was also decided that these trained
volunteers will raise awareness in their branches about the
importance of psychosocial support.
During the two-day training course, the volunteers learned about
the psychological support programme; the International Movement
of Red Cross and Red Crescent; the skills and the role of psychological
support providers; and support for the volunteers themselves.
The participants also presented their previous experiences with
psychological support during disasters such as the Qaluob train
crash and the Sharm El Sheikh bombings.
At the end of the workshops, the volunteers prepared plans of
action for their work in psychological support. In the future
plans were the inclusion of the psychological support programmes
in all branches with the help of the trained volunteers as a
crucial part of disaster management; using disaster simulations
as part of the practical training; and extending the psychological
support programmes to include not only victims of disasters
but also people living with HIV and other vulnerable people.
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plays were used as one of the methods during the psychological
support trainings.
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| Presentations. |
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| Group
discussions. |
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| Proud
volunteers with their certificates after the training.
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