Caritas trains family counselors in Sri Lanka

January 31, 2012: Caritas Sri Lanka is forming a team of counselors to provide fishing families and young adults with much needed help to overcome personal and domestic crisis resulting from growing social pressures.
The trainees are all volunteers from fishing villages and are being specially trained by Caritas Chilaw to deal with specific problems families and individuals might face.
“We believe the support of counselors will be vital in helping these people overcome what life has to throw at them. One in three fishing families is in need of counseling,” Father Abraham Barnabas, the director of Caritas Chilaw said on January 29.
He was speaking at a meeting of would-be counselors at Caritas Chilaw center in Madampe, 65km north of Colombo.
“Globalization and consumerism have eroded values in many families and it can take years to train a counselor; with this program we are giving the volunteers basic knowledge and practical experience so that they can ease an alarming growth in social ills,” said Seetha Wickramasigha, the program coordinator.

Interpersonal relationships within families and with others are vital for the well-being of individuals and society. With the support of trained volunteers we organize small group discussions and family therapy sessions as well as give psychological guidance, she said.
At the meeting the counselors spoke about some of the frequent problems they encounter. Alcoholism and its effects on families was an all too familiar example.
“It’s not uncommon these days to see a fisherman with a bottle of arak,” said Canicius Peter, a volunteer from Chilaw.
“The influence of alcohol can destroy families and create further problems in the future,” he said, adding that domestic violence, adultery and teenagers marrying young to escape the family is common.
The volunteers plan to meet once a month as part of their ongoing training.