“I was working in the shop. After the earthquake I rushed home. On the way I saw a school where many children had died. There were community people pulling the bodiesof children out of the rubble. I could see that they were working hard. I went and got water for them to drink”. (In the Muslim faith it is considered an act of grace to give water to another person). An initial exploratory visit invited by the Pakistan territory in December 06 had determined that the communities affected by the earthquake would benefit from a holistic response to their needs arising from the disaster. That is, a response that included physical, mental and emotional considerations. During the initial visit it had become clear that psychological and psychosocial influences were impeding the rate of recovery within communities.
Experience with the 04 tsunami had demonstrated that a community counselling approach whereby local people are supported and encouraged to counsel and be there for each other, as their greatest and sustained strength is an effective way to facilitate community and individual healing around psychosocial issues and influences all other areas of their lives.
Consequently, the Pakistan territory invited the regional team to return to conduct a workshop with community leaders in community counselling processes.
The week clearly demonstrated the principles of integrated mission - healing grace within every community and every heart whatever the faith background.
We included in our discussions the issue of faith. We were aware that this could be a sensitive issue among people particularly if being raised by people coming from a Christian organization. We firmly believed however, that faith is one of the key foundations of any community and is something that should be part of any discussion around community healing. We discussed with the Insan team (local NGO) before meeting with the community the best way to phrase and raise the faith issue for discussion. It turned out to be a pivotal point of discussions, with the participants happily talking about the strength their faith gave them, the way in which their faith inspired them to help others after the earthquake and how their faith continues to sustain them "God gave us strength, we must use it". The fact that we as facilitators were from a Christian background was not a hindrance and indeed appeared to be accepted and respected.
The experience demonstrated that when approached with sensitivity for local nuances, faith is a natural part of community life and discussion.
1 comment:
Hey Heath - I've seen it - looks great! lv Nikki
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