Looking at the Long Term

The most recent count yesterday totaled 461 dead and 192 missing. And it’s only been 2 1/2 weeks since Typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan, dumping 118 inches of rain on the island off the coast of China. Floods and landslides are reported to be most to blame for the damage, as the typhoon was very large and very slow-moving. These images of the damage speak for themselves.

The typhoon struck at a coincidental time for PBB. Less than a week after Typhoon Morakot broke land, PBB staff traveled to Galveston, Texas to do an anniversary training for the Hurricane Ike relief teams. PBB’s staff, April Naturale and Conor Seyle, trained over 150 crisis counselors on what they should expect from their communities around the anniversary of a major community disaster. I can’t help but wonder what the communities affected by Typhoon Morakot will be experiencing one year from now.

It is this forward-thinking “intermediate phase” aid with which PBB is most concerned. After the basic needs of food, safety and shelter are met and the community members have regained a sense of stability, only then are we in a place to offer psychological assistance. It is important to note, however, that not every community affected by disaster will need outside help. Most individuals and communities have an inherent sense of resiliency, and for many, that is more than enough to help them through the long process of recovery. But for those other communities that do need a level of professional aid, PBB is willing and able to work with and build upon their local supports to create lasting partnerships and sustainable services. For instance, we are on the tail end of our project in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, providing skills-based psychosocial training to a community that was affected by an earthquake 3 years ago. And the War Affected Youth we are beginning to be involved with in Sierra Leone stopped fighting their civil war in 2002.

We all know it is easier to give to a cause when the damage is recent and the need is immediate. But what about a year or two or seven after the trauma, and there is still work to be done? Please support PBB in our long-term vision for relieving psychological suffering. The communities of the forgotten disasters will be grateful.