THE Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS) held a booster training course on psychosocial support for its volunteers at Asia Plaza Hotel from May 21 to 23.
“The training is to refresh and boost the skills of volunteers who attended a training of trainers on psychosocial support in 2006, when MRCS started the psychosocial support training in Myanmar,” said Daw Khin Khin Shein, the head of the training unit and the deputy head of the society’s health division.

The 30 volunteers who attended the training are providing psychosocial support to communities in Kyaiklat, Pyapon, Dedaye, Bogale, Labutta, Mawgyun, Kungyangon, Ngapudaw and Maubin.

Daw Khin Khin Shein said MRCS also plans to distribute recreational kits to schools in Nargis-affected areas in June and July.

“The recreational kits will include badminton sets, cartoon books, drawing books and other things

that will help provide psychosocial support for children,” she said. She said that since last June, MRCS has also provided residents in Nargis-affected areas with community kits that include prayer books, badminton sets, cane balls and other items.

“Each month our volunteers hold cooking contests and other events in the villages. All the residents participate. We hope these activities will relieve the sufferings of the cyclone victims,” said Daw Khin Khin Shein.

“Psychosocial support is a long term process. Physical damage can be healed in a short time, but it is difficult to guess the mental trauma that people are suffering,” she said.

Ma Aye Myat Thandar, the program coordinator of the psychosocial support program, said the program is even more important with the approach of rainy season.

“People are anxious about suffering from disaster again. So we need to focus on providing psychosocial support to relieve people’s suffering,” she said.