CARAGA IDP CLUSTER RESPONDS TO ODETTE VICTIMS

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Caraga, being the chair of the different working committees in the region to include the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) Cluster, immediately provided assistance to families affected by the onslaught of typhoon Odette.

It may not be evident from their faces, but disaster victims are going through a lot of emotional and psychological baggage from their ordeal. This is the case for the Super Typhoon Odette victims who have been through traumatic experiences as the strong typhoon ravaged their homes, leaving them broken and helpless.

Though DSWD is normally seen as a provider of food and non-food items to disaster-affected families, the agency is also the lead agency in the IDP Cluster and the Camp Coordination, Camp Management Cluster. This means DSWD also takes charge in addressing other needs of IDPs in and outside of evacuation centers, including physical, psychological, and emotional health needs of affected families.

With this, DSWD Caraga has fielded psychological first aid teams to the different cities and municipalities affected by Odette to provide psychosocial activities to ease the traumatic burdens of the IDPs. Different sessions for adults and children have been conducted to assess the emotional and psychological status of the affected families/ individuals for appropriate interventions.

The teams have also included Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) topics in their discussions, which usually is a serious concern for the health of IDPs during disasters.

DSWD Field Office Caraga will continue to provide much needed assistance to the affected families of Super Typhoon Odette, not just the provision of food and non-food items coursed through the LGUs, but much needed psychosocial first aid to address psychological and emotional needs of the affected individuals/ families. (PFAiders/DSWDCaraga/PIA-Caraga)