Psychosocial problems in Afghanistan are the result of decades of war and the prevailing insecurity. They affect the majority of the Afghan people, even though women and children are the most vulnerable to these kinds of chocks – this was reminded by a recent report by ACBAR in a section dedicated to mental health (Health and Education in Afghanistan, 10 years after). Yet, the majority of health care services barely treats the traumas, which can also be linked to handicaps and impairments.

The psychosocial assistance project of Afghanistan Libre through adapted therapeutic treatments,  looks, for its part, to relieve the suffering of the women and of the communities dealing with these difficulties - difficulties that generate into problems of concentration, mental depression, anxiety, insomnia, and even social marginalization.

To recognize that there are psychosocial problems is to admit that they can have an effect on daily life. This is true particularly in the case of schooling where the ability to study is hindered by fright or anxiety. To take into account mental health and not neglecting it, is to give an additional chance to development.

A week-long training course, including practical and self-evaluation exercises, was organized and lead by Abida, our Chief of Projects, on the theme of Development of early childhood and the adult-child relation as partners in the education process.

This concept developed by UNICEF stipulates that this period (up to about the age of four years old) is crucial in the formation of the child and that it requires a favorable environment so as to give the child the best chances of developing his/her full potential. Nurseries are thus one of the first places where the child can grow and learn, and this is why they are cornerstones of our action.

The teachers of the three nurseries of the Paghman region benefited from this training to increase their competences and make the children better receptive to their teaching. They came from the nurseries of Hazrat Usman, and from the one we support in Pushta, and the Abdullah Bin Umer school. We had called upon them in order to share these educational methods dedicated to the wellbeing of children. In fact, the teachers are models for children, and their self-confidence has a positive impact on their relation with the child. Continue reading →

Three of our educators from our health education centers in Khojan Lakan, Azrat Osman and Malalai schools along with two midwives from the French NGO Terre des Hommes participated in a two-day experience sharing training. They exchanged on topics such as family planning and pregnant women’s and young mothers’ health.

Together, educators and midwives visited more than twenty mothers or pregnant women as to evaluate which kind of direct impact they could have regarding the need of these beneficiaries. They conducted practical sessions during which our health educators could become familiar with care recommended while being pregnant or after delivering – as for the mother; as well as with crucial care needed by newborns in their first months, especially breast-feeding, nutrition and vaccination.

Health educators’ role is to assist women in their pregnancy and to teach them daily attentions they must have to protect their health and their baby’s one. They are advise-givers for those mothers-to-be and can sensitize them to refer to a clinic in case of medical problems or complications they can help to detect (anemia, low blood pressure…).

Midwives’ and health educators’ works are complementary: midwives are in charge of medical issues, health educators sensitize pregnant women. For this reason, the two-day sharing experience was prolific for the three health educators, now able to react about mothers-to-be or young mothers’ problems and to encourage them to go to clinics or health centers. Those sharing sessions shall happen again in future.