Help "on the move"

On the frontiers of the soul | With courage against despair | Help "on the move"

Interview with Lucien Roca, Regional Director of SOS Children's Villages for the Middle East, about the necessity of a psychotherapeutic aid programme for children, about the challenges and problems the mobile therapy centre of SOS Children's Villages is faced with in the West Bank. How would you describe the situation you are facing? Given the ongoing situation of war in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, many children are unable to cope with their trauma without adequate medical support. SOS Children's Villages established the mobile psychotherapy centre to help people in need, who would otherwise not have access to proper treatment at the severely strained public hospitals. The mobile psychotherapy centre is a way SOS Children's Villages can provide the local population with services which are in urgent demand. What does the SOS Children's Village mobile therapy centre consist of? We have a prefabricated unit, which can be transported on a trailer. The unit has technically adapted to house a simple doctor's practice with basic laboratory equipment. The mobile therapy centre makes it possible to get to those places where patients require urgent help. A psychotherapist, a psychologist, two social workers and a lab technician are members of the permanent team. How are the team's activities organised? Social workers go ahead with the actual mission by providing lists of families in need. Patients visiting the mobile therapy centre for the first time are given a blood analysis at the laboratory in order to assess their general state of health. This is especially important for consecutive treatment as many patients suffer from symptoms of malnutrition and vitamin deficiency. This is followed by an extensive interview with the psychologist and the psychotherapist. A diagnosis is established, play and speech therapy is provided, and a follow-up care plan designed according to the patient's and/or his/her family's needs. After roughly three months in one place, the mobile therapy centre leaves for the next location. A psychologist under contract with SOS Children's Villages secures follow-up care by staying at the location to cater for the patients' needs. The location to follow of course sees a new local psychologist being contracted to provide services with the mobile therapy centre. Who pays for the particular therapies? Each patient is charged 1 symbolic shekel (USD 0.25) for medical check-up and follow-up care. How many children or families have received support so far and how many will receive support in the future? The mobile therapy centre was put into operation in April 2003; by mid-May 250 children had started therapy. We think we will have an average number of 2,000 patients per year. Additionally, SOS Children's Villages tries to reach families in dire need where urgent relief is necessary. Currently, 17 families in Bethlehem receive USD 20 per child and month to cover their children's school fees. The children's mothers are invited to take part in activities and SOS mother training at the SOS Children's Village. Where are the next planned stops for the mobile therapy centre? Currently, the mobile therapy centre is stationed right next to SOS Children's Village Bethlehem. The next planned stops include Hebron, Jericho, Ramallah, Jenin, Tulkarem... Is free movement of the mobile therapy centre secured? Free movement of the centre is limited by the requirements of authorisation to change locations by the Israeli military. However, the authorisation is necessary to ensure personal security of our team and access to wells, water sources and electricity controlled by the Palestinian authorities. How is this new initiative being promoted to the public? The Palestinian media (radio, TV, print) broadcast and publish regular reports on the SOS Children's Village facilities in Bethlehem and Rafah. The mobile therapy centre is being described as an innovative and flexible way of providing help. Response by the local population has been extremely positive so far. [Interview from September 2003]