Community based psychosocial support needed in education — report

AMMAN — Further integrating psychosocial support into school systems for students in emergency situations would improve learning and increase the resilience of communities as a whole, a recent report by Finn Church Aid (FCA) and Church of Sweden, published under the title “Improving well-being through education”, stated. 

“Children and youth affected by conflicts face multiple challenges in learning. Combining psychosocial support into the provision of education creates conditions for improved learning for children and youth living in difficult circumstances. Communities can play a key role in this,” said Minna Peltola, senior education adviser for FCA and co-author of the publication.

Through a community-based approach to psychosocial support (CBPS), FCA has been implementing a number of projects aimed at improving the well-being of children through education, which are presented in the report.

“In emergencies, people are affected in different ways and require different kinds of support. Key to organising mental health and psychosocial support is to develop a layered system of complementary support that meets the needs of different groups of people,” the report noted, citing basic services and security; community and family support; focused, non-specialised support; and specialised services.

Stemming from the belief in the affected community’s capacity for recovery and resilience, the CBPS facilitates people’s efforts to regain a functioning community by building on their strengths, therefore enabling them to bounce back to a sense of normalcy, the report explained, noting that CBPS interventions focus on “strengthening the social bonds of people by improving the psychosocial well-being of individuals and of communities as whole entities”.

“Supporting a community-based approach to education in emergencies can contribute to sustainability and long-term development, and ultimately to resilience building,” the report underlined, noting that education can also be used as a platform for life-saving activities in other sectors.

Through practical examples on how both access to education and the well-being of children and youth can be improved during conflicts, by involving communities, the report analysed the roles of various actors including teachers, mental health specialists and social workers, among others. 

In Jordan, the children of the Zaatari refugee camps benefited from the CBPS through extra-curricular activities that encompassed recreational circus and sports activities.

It focused on refugee youth, aged between 15 and 24 years old, with a special attention paid to the most vulnerable groups of school dropouts, people with disabilities and troubled youth, the report highlighted.

The programme began with FCA field officers mobilising the community, while collecting information about the out-of-school youth and the people who could be interested in the recreational activities. 

FCA then recruited community members as volunteers, with a focus on female volunteers who contributed to increasing the number of girl participants in the activities. They acted as community mobilisers, observers and circus trainers.

The circus activities aimed to provide a safe, recreational environment, where youth could engage in meaningful activities during their free time, according to FCA.

“Before, I couldn’t even go out because there wasn’t anything to do, but now, in this activity, I feel safe and happy,” one youth who participated in the programme said, while another reported, “before, I didn’t even want to go to school, but, after this activity, I’m motivated to participate in everything”.

An internal review of the activities showed that youth reported “enhanced social relationships, reduced stress and better self-confidence”, with parents and volunteers describing “positive changes in behaviour, emotional well-being and academic performance”.

The participants said the activities provided them with “a means of self-expression and motivation”, “enabled them to develop their communication and group work skills”, and “allowed them to be seen and heard”. 

“It gives me more confidence. It helped me express my feelings,” one of the youth stated, agreeing with another saying, “it helps in all work that I have here in my home, and gives a lot of energy.”