Marks on People’s Minds

The Philippines typhoons of 2004 left marks not only on the land in Quezon Province, but also on the lives of people. About 1000 to 2000 people died in the typhoon and mudslides, and many lost their homes. In order to rebuild the daily life of the affected communities of Banglos and Ilog and enhance the psychosocial wellbeing CBM’s partner Operation Compassion has invited the villagers to weekly community meetings. In addition to stress and trauma counselling, the get-togethers also address livelihood problems.

About thirty people, community counsellors, and some of their children sit together in a convention hall, with a high wooden roof and wooden slats instead of windows, with hot air floating in and out. Mariah Malan, Executive Director of Operation Compassion and Phillip Mendoza (all names changed), who is a qualified Psychologist and Project Field Officer, stand in the front and tell the people: "Close your eyes and forget that people are around you. While breathing thank God, who gave you life." The silence is tremendous—only the soft voices of women preparing lunch and children playing under coconut trees outside the house can be heard. After a while, Phillip continues: "Imagine a room you like, find a picture frame, and put all your joys and sorrows into the frame. Thank the Lord for all of them, and hang the frame on the wall in the room. Leave it there, as it contains just memories of what you have come through."

Silent, people sit with eyes closed. One can only imagine what they see—mud, death, horror and destruction; all the terrifying experiences of the natural disaster. After a while, the group is asked to share their thoughts. A woman says she feels lighter going through the exercise, looking back on what she has survived.

The counsellors are every day men and women from Banglos and Ilog, farmers and fishermen, among them 20 church staff. In a country where there are only about 350 psychiatrists available for a total of 80 million people, CBM’s partner Operation Compassion addresses the need for psychological assistance by training volunteers, who are being recruited and stay within the communities. Operation Compassion feels that the community counsellors, who are supposed to listen to the troubles of their neighbours, are "wounded healers", who acknowledge their own wounds and have genuine compassion for others. They "can be a healing presence in the community, to advocate for the community and promote good community relationships", says Dr. Istvan Patkai from K. and E. Bartsch, Stress and Trauma Healing (1996, South Africa). The CBM psychiatrist trained the 30 counsellors to deal with the psychological and social effects of the disaster and to assist people in their communities in their struggle with memories of devastation, terror, and the feeling of helplessness.

The counsellors have been advised to use the techniques applied during their own meetings also in the weekly savings group’s gatherings they take part in. There, people of the devastated villages have the chance to talk about the different stages of their distressing or stressful memories; some of them do this for the first time. Many have lost relatives and property in the typhoons, and feel afraid that the flood may return and take away everything they have achieved. Worries surround concerns for the family’s well-being and livelihood and whether the parents can still afford to send their children to school. These experiences led to severe distress; even deeper problems result from anxiety caused by military abuses, disappearances, land grabbing, and eviction.

To put things in perspective (positive and negative) and to cope with all that the people have experienced is a process that goes on long after a disaster occurred. People need time to face the current and pre-existing stresses and avoid faulty coping practices. The counselling addresses the whole community and is combined with social activities, like youth retreats and Christian celebrations, which create an atmosphere to express feelings and assist in problem-solving. In addition, relationship counselling sessions are held, as Operation Compassion noticed that personal relationships among couples in Banglos and Ilog suffered from the stresses caused by the typhoons. "Mental health is being understood as the ability to love and work," says Dr. Patkai, referring to a concept of Sigmund Freud, the famous Austrian psychoanalyst.

Read more: The Guardian - Article about Sigmund Freud's 150. Birth Anniversary

Danielo Tanyhan, a farmer, who lost all his crop, and Dalen Valdemoza, a woman attending a savings group, and all the other people living in the district of Banglos, have gone through a lot. The landscape of their village carries scars, which remind the people every day of what the disaster did to their lives: Banglos was divided into two parts by the mudslide, forcing the river into a new riverbed. It seems to be a miracle that people have recovered and restarted their everyday lives in such a short time. The reason might lie in the strong vision that exists behind the programme of Operation Compassion, which Mariah describes enthusiastically: "We aim to transform the nation—and start with the community." She refers to the concept of "sagip bansa", which was developed by Operation Compassion and means "save the nation", appealing to the people’s responsibility—"Your barangay (village), your part." The people themselves are asked to step in when the state is of little help, which in fact had missed to include the divided village into rehabilitation measures.

Given these circumstances, where does Mariah Malan, the executive director of Operation Compassion, draw her confidence from? "I believe in the strength of the Filipino people," the 48-year-old says, and her faith gives her the power to achieve a new start together with the communities. "If a new disaster happens, people will be better prepared, and their faith in their abilities will be stronger," Mariah hopes. This is reasonable because Operation Compassion has created a community spirit and, in addition, enabled people to organise and care for themselves. The organisation wishes to duplicate the successful programme also in other Philippine provinces in need, with the help of the social and comforting ministries of the network of evangelical Christian churches it works with. "We tell people in Banglos and Ilog that we won’t be there to help them forever. And they understand that they need to prepare themselves for the future," says Mariah.

Read more: Raising Hopes for the Future - Savings Programme as an Introduction of Post-Disaster-Counselling
Further information: What The Soil Has To Offer - Restoration of Communities After Typhoons in the Philippines

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