Psychosocial support for conflict and societal violence affected children
Project title: Psychosocial support for conflict and societal violence affected children.
Implementation period: 9 months (1/3/2015 – 30/11/2015)
Donor: Save the Children
Thematic Program: Children Rights Protection Program
Introduction:
Palestinians in oPt face a range of serious protection threats related to these factors including threats to life, liberty and security, destruction or damage to homes and other property, forced displacement, restrictions on freedom of movement and on access to live hoods, and lack of accountability and effective remedy.
The seasonal winter flooding further exacerbates pre-existing humanitarian needs. In 2014, there was a sharp increase in the severity of humanitarian needs in Gaza Strip as a result of the July-August war.
According to OCHA (Occupied Palestinian Territory Humanitarian Needs Overview 2015); the armed conflict from 7 July to 26 August was the deadliest escalation in hostilities to affect Gaza since 1967. Half a million people were displaced, up to 22,000 homes were totally destroyed or rendered uninhabitable and 100,000 remain homeless. Extensive damage to infrastructure, including health, educational and water sanitation facilities, further undermined the already precarious access to basic services.
The impact of violence and conflict on children is particularly concerning, hindering the enjoyment of their rights, preventing their normal development and severally affecting their psychosocial wellbeing.
Moreover, the counselors who provide group and individual counseling sessions noticed that children -in areas that mostly affected by the war and suffer from psychosocial problems- have low academic achievements compared to their achievements before the war. The caregiver asked the project team several times to provide their children with psychosocial educational support as children in these areas are in need for this activity. Therefore, there is an essential need to continue and expand providing emergency psychosocial support services for children and caregivers especially in areas that mostly affected by the last Israeli war on Gaza Strip.
Main objective: improve psychosocial wellbeing, protection and coping mechanisms of vulnerable children in Gaza Strip.
Specific objectives:
- Enhanced psychosocial wellbeing and coping of targeted children and their families in Gaza.
- Increased awareness child rights and suitable ways of treatment for parents.
- Empowered coping skills for women after war.
- Improved psychosocial support team skills in communication with children and referral system.
Targeted group: Children
Activities:
- Conduct 130 group counseling sessions for 1950 children.
- Conduct 130 follow up sessions for parents and their children.
- Conduct 40 debriefing sessions for 480 women.
- Conduct 200 emergency visits.
- Conduct individual counseling for 750.
- Conduct 120 supervision visits for psychosocial support teams.
- Conduct 11 open days for 1950 children.
- Conduct stress management workshop for 25 PSTs.
- Conduct 4 community awareness raising workshops.
- Conduct 3 lesson learned workshops targeting 20 partner CBOs, 20 children, 20 parents, 20 PSTs.
- Conduct 4 training days for PSTs on need assessment and communication skills eith children and parents.