Towards better support for those of us working in conflict zones

As a NOHA student I've been looking into the stress that working in the humanitarian sector and particularly conflict zones can bring about and its effects on us as (potential) NGO staff.

I found out that training on how to manage stress and on-deployment support are often lacking, while the need for it is huge.

I have since joined an initiative called 'Achilles', which is developing a comprehensive training for people at risk of exposure to traumatic events or suffering from secondary stress. The focus is on improving the resilience of NGO staff working in conflict zones, with a potential to spread to military personal, ambulance service, fire brigade, etc.

To get a good view of its importance and adjust the training to the right needs, we have developed a short survey. I'd like to ask you to please fill it in. Here's the link. It takes about 5 minutes (multiple-choice 10 question survey). You don't need to say where you served or who with, or give your name.

Feel free to pass this on to colleagues who were deployed with you or friends exposed to similar situations.

The results of this survey will help inform the development of Achilles pre-deployment and resilience training. If you would like to know more about the training, drop a line to: mark@integrationtraining.co.uk

Thanks!

All the best,

Marleen van Klingeren