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Friday, March 29, 2024
HomeHealthPeople Assisting Victims of Cyclone Idai Likely To Experience Post Crisis Trauma

People Assisting Victims of Cyclone Idai Likely To Experience Post Crisis Trauma

Director of Epidemiology and Disease Control in the ministry of health and child care, Dr. Portia Manangazira has expressed concern over the mental stability of people who have been on the ground helping the victims of cyclone Idai saying they are likely to experience post crisis trauma.

Manangazira raised this at a meeting held in the capital yesterday where she appealed for specialised training on how to assist affected people.

“Pastors have been trained and they have been helping us with the counseling and burying the dead. We feel they are burning out since they have been on the ground since the 18th of March and need our support since they were exposed to a lot of traumatic expiriences in Manicaland,” said Manangazira.

Deputy director Mental Health Services, Chido Rwafa, who was also part of the participants said she was overwhelmed by the response by the Zimbabwean community at large in their quest to assist fellow Zimbabweans who were going through traumatic experiences.

A reasonable number of people turned up at Celebration Centre  where the Mental Health Services had called for all the people who would in turn be part of the team that would then get special training on how to assist affected people.

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“We are grateful for your support. We were not expecting such a positive attitude towards this meeting. Let’s keep the spirit positive and and be able to assist the victims of the Cyclone Idai,” said Rwafa.

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Rwafa went on to explain that the staff that was on the ground since the 18th of March after the cyclone hit was now fatigued. There is a need to relieve them since there are now likely to experience post trauma after working with the survivors.

“Things are bad on the ground. We were ready for a cyclone but not for a disaster hence we are trying to respond to it also paying attention to the people who are on the ground doing their best to save lives. They have seen a lot,” said Rwafa.

Dr Manangazira also pointed out the risks that the people who are going to assist might meet since she was in Chimanimani recently.

” We have to be careful of  cholera and typhoid. The water treatment plant and the sewers were all destroyed during the floods. This means the water there is not safe,” she said.

People that attended the meeting were encouraged to register legally and be accredited in order to offer counseling to the victims of the cyclone. They were also given highlights of problem management plus and the psychological first aid that gave the people a hint on what they can expect when they go to Chimanimani.

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