December 7 disasters |16 December 2023
RCSS collaborates with Defence Forces to provide psychosocial support to affected victims
Since the calamities of December 7, those affected have been receiving ongoing psychosocial support from the Red Cross Society of Seychelles (RCSS), volunteers and staff who have all undergone training in this area.
This is being done alongside Beryl Dodin, principal counsel at the Seychelles Defence Forces (SDF), and her team of twelve trained soldiers. Ms Dodin is also a volunteer of the RCSS, trained in psychosocial support by the National Society.
The SDF's psychosocial support programme involves a group of soldiers who have received training to provide support in military service. During the two disasters that befell the country on December 7 – massive flooding in the northern region of Mahé and the explosion at Petit Paris – the team has established connections with many organisations, and worked closely with the RCSS, and the community at large.
The psychosocial support has been given to individuals affected to help promote and enhance resilience in them. It is done to assist individuals in overcoming and adjusting to challenges that may have long-lasting negative consequences. Thus, psychosocial support encourages the rebuilding of social infrastructure and cohesion.
To boost morale and provide a shoulder to lean on, the team has visited individuals affected by the blast and flooding along with families who have lost family members and conducted a debriefing of the sessions with them.
By December 12, a total of 190 Indian nationals and 146 locals – totalling 236 people – had received group and individual psychosocial support from both the RCSS team and Ms Dodin and her team. Sixteen grieving families were attended to and more than 200 calls were directed to offer psychosocial support. RCSS volunteers and staff, including SDF, conducted psychosocial support via mobile phone calls.
According to Ms Dodin, psychosocial help is essential – even more so right now. She and her group are conducting phone call sessions and in-person visits to people affected by the explosion and flooding. She observes that the in-person sessions have greatly improved their quality of life, as they have helped them feel more at ease and supported. While the solutions are not immediate, the support they receive is invaluable.
The work is still ongoing as Ms Dodin is involved in backup counselling for some individuals. There, she offers an extra layer of support and subsequently offers therapy for them afterwards.
RCSS staff and volunteers, like all those involved in the two incidents, have also required psychosocial support and this has been provided by psychologist Jimmy Petrousse from the Ministry of Health.
The secretary general of the RCSS, Marie-May Esparon, says: “As we continue along to provide relief and respond to the increasing number of psychosocial support requests coming in, we will continue to advocate on its importance. We have actually been promoting its advantages and necessity for a while now because we can never predict when we would require this additional help.”
The secretary general believes that the best course of action at this point is to keep offering psychosocial support as a continuous form of treatment to encourage the promotion of serenity, community, individual and group efficacy, and hope among people affected.
In addition, the RCSS hopes to train at least one person per family in psychosocial support and to conduct more field-based trainings for trainers in Seychelles, much like first aid.
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