“The Chinese earthquake has left millions of suffering adults and children. The photos and news reports are heart-wrenching and vivid reminders that the traumatic effects of natural disasters can last for many years if left untreated. ”

Recently we were approached by Dr. Rob Blinn, a psychologist from Beijing United Family Hospital who specializes in trauma, to see if UFCO could help support a project to bring U.S. psychologists to Sichuan to train local residents in how to help treat psychological trauma of the children survivors. Sources are estimating that there are up to 600,000 individuals who have significant psychological trauma. We are currently accepting donations on behalf of this project. If you wish to donate via paypal please indicate that your donation is to go towards the Sichuan project.

Please find some more information about the initiative below. The below text is from excerpts from an email sent out to the friends of the Foundation for Human Enrichment.

“The China project is being co-coordinated by Lisa and Laurie Leitch. Laurie is Director of Research for the Foundation for Human Enrichment and also the Co-Founder and Co-Director of the Trauma Resource Institute (TRI), a non-profit trauma training organization that provides training in trauma stabilization nationally and internationally. She has particular interest in “at risk” populations including survivors of catastrophic events. She provided treatment after 9-11, as well as treatment and clinical training in southern Thailand after the tsunami, in Louisiana following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita where she made 10 trips to New Orleans and Baton Rouge, and in Rwanda with post-genocide counselors and prisoners.

Dr. Leitch’s research has included social program and clinical evaluations for national foundations, the federal government, and non-profit organizations. She has conducted two studies of the effectiveness of somatic intervention after natural disasters. One was published in September 2007 in Traumatology and the other has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Social Work. Her specialty is cross-cultural training and research with populations who have experienced complex trauma.

The primary focus of this project is to provide training for healthcare providers, school personnel and others who are in key positions to help children heal from the potentially devastating effects of the trauma they have experienced. It is known that thousands of people have died, many more thousands were injured and thousands of children have been orphaned. We know that many more children have been traumatized by the experiences they have endured during and following the earthquake.

Now the SE ® China Earthquake Relief project is formed and ready to go. The project has three phases. In the first phase Laurie Leitch will Laurie Leitch will meet with Chinese researchers in Beijing to collaborate on the design and implementation of an assessment package. The assessments will focus on 1) evaluation of all trainings provided by the teams. Trainings will be assessed for relevance, use, and satisfaction and 2) assessment of earthquake survivors pre/post/follow-up who are treated by those receiving training from our teams. Assessments will include symptoms as well as resiliency indicators.

The second phase will involve Lisa and her team: Maggie Kline, Daniel Bruce, and Ale Duarte all of whom were part of the initial TOP Team that went to Thailand. Daniel and Ale accompanied Raja, Lisa and others to India. This team will travel to the earthquake-affected area of Sichuan Province with Dr. Blinn to provide culturally-appropriate psychological (trauma) first aid training, in conjunction with our Chinese hosts, to facilitate psychological stabilization in these early stages of intervention. Stabilization and re-establishment of equilibrium in the nervous system can often allow individuals to access their own resilience and healthy coping methods. Others may need more intensive interventions that require additional training and skills. For this reason, we hope to provide an ongoing and sustainable support program for ongoing training in SE-based interventions for trauma healing through implementation of Phase 3.

Phase Three will entail Laurie and her team: Elaine Miller-Karas, LISW, Ellen Elgart, LISW, Brenda Williams, LISW, and Pat Kouwbunpat, M.D. The Phase Three team is from the Trauma resource Institute (TRI) and will provide 3-day trainings in China in TRI’s brief somatic model, Trauma Resiliency Model. TRM has been field-tested in natural disasters as well as in international settings suffering complex trauma such as Rwanda and with east and west African activists against female genital mutilation and Safe House counselors. The Trauma Resiliency Model is a skills-based, biologically oriented intervention which offers practical stabilization skills to practitioners as well as survivors. TRM training can be offered to clinical responders as well as others who are working with survivors of natural disasters such as teachers and parents of suffering children.TRI is experienced in delivering training using translators and has training materials that have been tailored for use across cultures. The TRI team will provide training as well as a model of in-the-field demonstration and coaching that was developed during the fires in southern California in fall 2007. Phase 3 will include training for those working with adult survivors as well as children. If we can raise the necessary funds, the plan is to send teams into the Sichuan province over the course of one year.”

While we usually support projects that provide physical medical care to orphans and other children in need, we fully support this project as it directly benefits the surviving children’s mental health which we believe is very crucial at this point in time.

If you would like to help fund this project, you can make a donation via the paypal link. Please specify that your donation is to go towards the Sichuan project. Please also send us an email to foundation@ufh.com.cn to confirm your donation. If you would like to send a check donation, please send it to the below address:

United Foundation for Chinese Orphans
c/o Charlene Sessoms
Chindex International, Inc.
4340 East West Highway, Suite 1100
Bethesda, Maryland 20814
USA

If you would like to know other methods of donating, please send an email to foundation@ufh.com.cn.

**As UFCO is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization registered in the United States, your donation will be eligible for a US tax deduction.

Thank you,

Sarah
UFCO Operations
foundation@ufh.com.cn

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RECEIVED DONATIONS

USD$1,250: July 6, 2008: paypal donation from W. N. Heung (Hong Kong)

USD$100: July 8, 2008: paypal donation on behalf of Edgemont High School teachers (New York)

USD$600: July 9, 2008: paypal donation (Hong Kong)

USD$100: July 10, 2008: paypal donation (Hong Kong)

RMB10,000: July 18, 2008: cash donation (Beijing)

USD$70: July 23, 2008: paypal donation (Spain)

RMB2,000: July 24, 2008: cash donation (Beijing)

USD$250: August 1, 2008: paypal donation (Hong Kong)