© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
David Conrad and Alan White (eds.)Sports-Based Health Interventions10.1007/978-1-4614-5996-5_1919. Sport as a Post-Disaster Psychosocial Intervention for Children in Bam, Iran
(1)
Public Health Department, Hertfordshire County Council, Postal Point—CHO231, County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DN, UK
Keywords
Natural disasterEarthquakeIranTraumaRefugeesChildrenBoysGirlsSportCoachingSocial integrationThis chapter has been based on Valeria Kunz’s original assessment report on the intervention for SAD and subsequent paper published in the journal Sport in Society: Cultures, Commerce, Media, Politics [1, 2]. Further details of the intervention and the results of the assessment can be found in these documents.
Background
As well as their potential to cause physical injuries and fatalities, and to destroy homes and infrastructure, natural disasters can have a huge impact on the mental wellbeing of those who survive [3]. Psychological trauma can occur when an individual exposed to a life-threatening event experiences a sense of ‘intense horror, fear and/or helplessness’ [4]. Recovery from psychological trauma depends on the victim’s coping mechanisms and resilience, including levels of support available through family and social networks, as well as individual characteristics [5].
Psychosocial interventions have emerged as a means of supporting process of psychological rehabilitation in post-disaster situations. Rejecting the classic medical model directed at the individual, these types of interventions are focussed on empowering communities to support each other, often making them more responsive to the local context [6].
Aid organisations and other NGOs are increasingly using sport-based post-disaster psychosocial interventions, particularly when targeting children and young people . Such interventions can help to build community cohesion and encourage mutual support while providing a structured, safe and non-confrontational environment in which to help children and young people express their problems and feelings, build resilience and overcome the trauma which they have suffered [7].
The Bam Earthquake
On 26 December 2003 a devastating earthquake, with a magnitude of 6.6, struck the historic city of Bam, Iran and its surrounding area, killing approximately 30,000 people and orphaning around 6500 children. Most of the city’s buildings, which were made of mud bricks, were destroyed, making over 75,000 people homeless.
National and international humanitarian aid organisations responded to a worldwide appeal for helping the Iranian government and the United Nations, and refugee camps were set up to house the homeless. Children who had survived the earthquake, and who all had family members and friends among the fatalities, found themselves living in the unfamiliar environment of the camps, where the living conditions were precarious and they had nothing to do. In response to this situation, the ‘Sport and play for traumatised children and youth project was set up.
Aims of the Project
The purpose of the project was to use sport and games to provide the children with structured activities which would:
Provide an emotional outlet.
Improve mental and physical wellbeing.
Encourage mutual support and social cohesion through promoting values of teamwork and fair play.
Promote norms and behaviours important for coping with daily life.
Provide a platform for health promotion.
It was also intended that the project would provide parents with some relief from childcare and build capacity by empowering local coaches and project staff.
How the Project Was Set Up
The project was set up by the Swiss Academy for Development (SAD) ,1 a practice-oriented research institute, founded in 1991, that promotes development opportunities for children and young people experiencing rapid and often conflictual change. SAD has long been involved in the field of sport and development, exploring the use of sport as a tool to address various issues, such as overcoming trauma of civil war or natural disasters; integrating marginalised groups; fostering education and gender equity; and promoting peace and conflict transformation. Funding for the project was received from the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC )2 and a number of other funders and corporate donors.
In August 2004, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Iranian dedicated authority, the Bam affected area Task Force, agreeing the establishment of two centres for delivering sports activities in the Amir Kabir and Shahid Rajaie refugee camps (both of which entirely lacked psychosocial support for children and young people). The village of Baravat, 10 km from Bam and similarly lacking support for psychosocial rehabilitation, was chosen as a third location. A protected warehouse in each of the two refugee camps was allocated for delivering the activities and kitted out with sports equipment, including football goals, table tennis tables and mats for gymnastics, while the sport federation in Baravat allowed the local sports stadium to be used as a venue for activities in the village.
Sport and play activities were initially delivered through the Czech organisation People in Need (PIN) during a pilot phase which ran until May 2005. Experienced professional sports coaches were recruited from the local population to lead the activities and a young Iranian woman was recruited as a local project manager.
The project was promoted in local schools in the Bam area and activities began being delivered at all three of the project’s locations by the end of October 2004.
Delivery of the Project
The coaches provided a range of sports activities, including football, volleyball, basketball, gymnastics, karate and table tennis, in 12 different classes comprising an average of around 20 children and young people. A monitoring system was put in place to identify which classes were most and least popular, allowing the programme of activities to be adjusted several times in keeping with demand. Participants often requested additional activities, resulting in several trips, picnics and competitions being organised in addition to the scheduled classes. Sponsors provided sports shoes and clothing for the participants.
The range of activities was expanded over the course of 2005 to include health education and conflict management and violence prevention programmes. Workshops were also provided for the coaches to provide them with further training in sport didactics and psychosocial issues.
At the end of the pilot phase, there was clear enthusiasm from the participants, parents and the coaches to continue with the intervention and it was decided that the SAD would continue to run the project directly through the local project manager.
Related posts:
Resilience Enhancing Program for Youth Survivors of the Beslan School Hostage-Taking
Sport and Public Health Partnership Working
The Community Street Soccer Program
Promoting Mental Well-being in Rugby League Communities
‘Quit Smoking with Barça’: An Initiative of the European Commission’s ‘Ex-Smokers Are Unstoppable’ Campaign
The Bristol Active Life Project: Physical Activity and Sport for Mental Health
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
