wfn.org | [ENS] Episcopalians offer trauma counseling in Sri Lanka,

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@mail.epicom.org>]

Daybook, from Episcopal News Service

Thursday, February 10, 2005 -- People of Purpose

New Hampshire couple bound for Sri Lanka through ERD; Manhattan church
leader reflects on observations in India

Episcopal Relief and Development is providing access to counseling
services
for Sri Lankans recovering after the tsunami. Many survivors lost family
members and remain traumatized by the disaster.

ERD is working with the Diocese of Colombo to coordinate a trauma stress
relief and rehabilitation program for people in need of counseling.
David
Baughan, a physician, and his wife Jennifer White-Baughan, a clinical
psychologist trained in the field of trauma, will be stationed in Sri
Lanka
for three months.  There, they will train local counselors, educators,
and
social service workers on post traumatic stress disorder methods and
interventions.

The Baughans are Episcopalians from the Diocese of New Hampshire.
Jennifer
White-Baughan is a consultant with the Carroll County Attorney's Office
in
New Hampshire, where she has specialized in domestic violence and child
abuse counseling. David Baughan has designed curricula to train
physicans to
practice in underserved areas and consulted with the University of Costa
Rica on the development of their family medicine residency program.

As a couple they have presented a culturally appropriate and innovative
intervention program on PTSD in Cambodian refugees to the UN High
Commissioner for Refugees and Border Relief Operations in Bangkok.

"Many people in communities throughout the diocese are in need of
counseling," said the Rt. Rev. Duleep de Chickera.  "'The sea that
sustained
us took everything from us,'" said Bishop Chickera, quoting a local
fisherman. "This comment from a fisherman applies to people too. Both
have
the potential for nourishment and destruction."

Current updates on South Asia relief are posted regularly on-line at
www.er-d.org/tsunami.

To help families rebuild after the devastating earthquake and tsunamis
in
South Asia, donors are invited to contribute to the South Asia Relief
Fund
in the Ways to Give section of http://www.er-d.org/ or call
1-800-334-7626,
ext. 5129. Gifts can be mailed to: Episcopal Relief and Development,
South
Asia Relief Fund, PO Box 12043, Newark, NJ 07101.

Episcopal Relief and Development, an independent 501 C3 organization,
saves
lives and builds hope in communities around the world. We provide
emergency
assistance in times of disaster. When the immediate crisis is over, we
rebuild devastated communities and offer long-term solutions in the
areas of
food security, health care, and HIV/AIDS.

- - - - -

In the Episcopal Diocese of New York Yvonne O'Neal, chairperson of the
dioceses Congregational Life and Mission Commission and a member of Holy
Trinity Episcopal Church in Manhattan, recently returned from India as
part
of a diocesan delegation. In "A Witness to the Tsunami" she shared what
she
saw in the affected regions. This article is reprinted with permission
from
January/February 2005 issue of The Episcopal New Yorker, Diocese of New
York, Neva Rae Fox, communications director.

A Witness to the Tsunami

By Yvonne O'Neal

When I visited Kilpaukkam on Thursday, January 20, the sea was still
raging
with anger, it seemed. On the shores were the broken fishing boats,
catamarans and ruined nets. The fisher folk were standing by with dazed
looks, wondering when they could go back to earning a living at the only
job
they know how to do. Perhaps some were mourning a loved one. There was
rubble everywhere. The children played among the rubble, and were eager
to
have their photographs taken.

A curious and much photographed object on the beach was said to come all
the
way from Thailand. Nearby, government officials met with the people to
find
out about their concerns and their needs. Government aid is very
minimal,
consisting of Rs 4000 (rupees) ($90.90), rice and a few toys per family.
Private foundations and NGOs are much more generous; they give
everything
the family needs. UNICEF water tanks are seen throughout villages,
providing
clean drinking water.

I saw the utter sadness in the eyes of a mother who lost her five-year
daughter. The child was found dead in the ruins of the house. I could
not be
so insensitive as to take a photograph of this grieving mother, but she
is
etched in my memory forever.

The day before, on Tuesday the 19, we visited the shores of Budhu
Pattinam
Kuppam, a small fishing village of 420 families. Over half the houses of
the
village were destroyed completely. All the contents of the remaining
houses
were lost. Six people died in this village. We talked to one man who was
able to rescue two of his brother's children, but blames himself for the
other two that perished.

There is sadness and despair everywhere. So many people are homeless.
All
the men are now unemployed because their boats and nets have been
destroyed.
However, there are three colorful new boats on the beach, donated by
Americans and bearing the names of the donors, including Bergen County,
NJ.
The Hope Foundation is the name we heard over and over again, and these
boats came via this organization. Another prominent NGO in the relief
efforts is World Vision. The NGOs are busy providing temporary housing,
mainly tents, and will provide permanent housing later on. Of course,
our
own Episcopal Relief and Development has been quietly helping out the
nations that suffered in this disaster.

Prof. J. Samuel Cornelius, honorary director of the Department of
Ecumenical
Relations, Diocese of Madras, was our host and guide. Also in the party
to
Budhu Pattinam Kuppam was the delegation from the Diocese of Colombo,
Sri
Lanka to the Madras Diocesan Council 2005, the Rev. Joseph. S. Charles,
Mrs.
Monica Charles, and the Ven. Dhiloraj Canagasabey, Archdeacon of Nuware
Eliya. The area of the Diocese of Colombo was hit hard by the tsunami.
Archdeacon Canagasabey told of the massive death, destruction and
despair.
The ocean raged with such intensity that it brought forth from its
bottom
all the dirt and debris, which caused corpses to decay in less than 24
hours

For miles and miles along the beaches of Chengalpattu one sees the
temporary
tents that have been set up to provide shelter for the homeless. Life
goes
on. The children play. Some walk miles and miles to get to school.

The Diocese of Madras, headed the Rt. Rev. Dr. V. Devasahayam, is
applying
to the government for adoption of two or three villages for
rehabilitation
programs in the building of roads, houses, etc.  The diocese sprang to
action immediately after the tragedy and called an emergency meeting on
December 27.

In his Seaquake Tragedy Appeal letter, Bishop Devasahayam summed up the
situation succinctly. "Death, destruction and destitution in an
unimaginably
large scale was everywhere, and the people who had only a little before
the
seaquake and the tidal wave, have even less now after the devastation."

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