Protecting the Vulnerable in Bam
Two consultants from the Philippines, together with an Iranian evaluator, spent a week conducting interviews with planners, administrators, managers, social workers and counsellors involved in UNICEF projects as well as with children and parents who benefited from the interventions. A review of various reports and documents also contributed to the exercise. The evaluation found that the school-based counselling project had a positive result on the behaviour of children. Teachers reported that 60 to 70 per cent of their students showed improvement after one year and that they now have a mechanism to refer children to counsellors when disruptive or problematic behaviour occurs. In focus group discussions, children reported they had learned relaxation exercises that helped when they felt afraid, sad or could not sleep. Parents and teachers also benefited from debriefing sessions, saying they learned to cope with their own grief and understand the behaviour of children after the earthquake.
“Although the investments did not come in concrete and physical form, the Bam emergency programme pushed the SWO to review its national policies, and service delivery mechanisms and procedures,” said Dr. Mohammad Setayesh, Director General of SWO in Kerman. “Without UNICEF support, it would have been impossible for SWO to mount a comprehensive emergency programme in response to the earthquake in Bam.” The evaluation also served to underscore how early childhood education helped in restoring normalcy among children affected by the earthquake. Parents, children, teachers and managers were unanimous and unequivocal in their view that the UNICEF-supported early childcare centres were effective in providing a friendly space for preschool children. But concerns were raised over the sustainability of the recreation centres for school-aged children. Although pre-schools existed in Bam before the earthquake, recreation centres were a new concept and the importance of recreation in psychosocial health is still not well understood. Resources to sustain these centres are extremely limited and the evaluation team warned that there is a real chance that the centres may not continue. The evaluation made a series of recommendations, including expanding the hotline service, promoting decentralized decision making, publicizing the recreation centres, reducing the case load of social workers and increasing the involvement of communities in the management of projects. “There are some operational enhancements that can be made in the future,” said Lucita Lazo, one of the international evaluators. “A key area would be the need to enhance community mobilization to ensure long-term sustainability.”
|
