The Department of Social Welfare and Development in Region 11 has deployed counselors to debrief traumatized victims of the killer flashflood which struck last June 28 in Davao City.
Desiree Pingol of the DSWD’s Crisis Intervention Unit said five children were taken by worried parents to the DSWD regional office which had received reports of other children psychologically affected by the calamity.
“We’ve heard reports that some children are waking up in the middle of the night,” Pingol said, “similar to the cases of those brought to the DSWD.”
She said that one of the children was a six-year old who was nearly swept away by the floodwaters but was saved by clinging on to a coconut tree while helplessly watching her younger brother being carried away by the strong current.
Pingol said the children are being debriefed by trained Critical Incidence Stress Debriefers of the DSWD.
“We have CISD personnel in the regional office plus we have also trained the local government unit on stress debriefing,” Pingol said.
Stress debriefing includes processing the victims’ ordeal through play therapy, drawing and sharing. “Ang importante mailabas ang saloobin nila. (What is important is for them to express their feelings),” Pingol added.
Plans are up for CISD-trained personnel to go to the areas where they will conduct debriefing sessions. They have to identify and group the traumatized children. CISD sessions are part of the augmentation support given by the DSWD to the local government. [PIA-11/Rudolph Ian G. Alama]
