Ministry of Social Affairs Prepares Post-Disaster Emergency Response Services for Child Refugees in NTT
ADONARA (28 April 2021) - The Ministry of Social
Affairs, through the Directorate of Child Social Rehabilitation, has deployed 6
groups of officers to carry out direct Psychosocial Support Services (LDP) for
children who have been in refugee camps since April 4, 2021.
Facing the disaster
emergency response period which will end on May 1, the Directorate of Child
Social Rehabilitation has coordinated with various parties related to
post-disaster emergency response preparations, especially for child refugees on
Adonara Island, NTT.
One of the proposals to
be implemented after the disaster emergency response is to provide LDP training
for parties who play an important role in the recovery process for children's
psychosocial conditions.
This activity is a
request from the local government because of the perceived concern about the
sustainability of the children's learning process when the central officers and
volunteers have finished their duties and have left the evacuation site.
"I hope that there
will be psychosocial assistance training for our teachers, because so far they
have only been taught how to deliver learning material in the classroom, are
not taught how to conduct psychosocial assistance so that even though the
emergency response period ends, there is psychological assistance and
educational learning is still carried out and recreation, "said John as
Head of Elementary and Middle School of the East Flores Education Office.
This post-disaster
emergency response is very reasonable to feel because with the end of the
emergency response period, all volunteers will leave the evacuation post, while
on the other hand, there are still people who live in refugee camps as long as
the shelter is still not ready to be occupied.
"Being a victim of a
flood disaster should not make children lose their enthusiasm to continue
formal learning. After May 1, 2021, there will be no more volunteers and
central officers who accompany the children to play and study at the evacuation
posts here. Our local teachers do not yet have the knowledge and skills to
assist and teach children in the evacuation posts, while the teachers
themselves are among the victims of the disaster. Therefore, it is important
for teachers to be equipped with knowledge and skills to assist children in learning
in a disaster,” added John.
To answer Mr. John's
concerns from the Education Office, the Ministry of Social Affairs will
coordinate with various parties so that LDP training activities for teachers,
parents, communities, companions, and local communities can be carried out.
"Through this activity, we hope that the children will continue to have
the enthusiasm for learning even in a refugee situation," said Dede Nurdin,
one of the Social Workers of the Directorate of Child Social Rehabilitation.
"In the
implementation of this LDP Training, we plan to collaborate with the Caritas
Foundation which is engaged in the humanitarian sector, the Education Office,
Youth Organization, the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD), and the
Ministry of Religion which oversees MI, MTS, and MAN," said Ema, a social worker
of Directorate of Social Rehabilitation for Children.
After coordinating with
various related institutions, the LDP training was welcomed by the readiness to
collaborate in the implementation of these activities.
The LDP training for
teachers and local companions on Adonara Island is expected to be able to help
children in evacuation so that they can undergo the teaching and learning
process well and cheerfully.