Philippines typhoon: a psychological perspective

(Vatican Radio) Two months on from a devastating Typhoon that struck the central Philippines, those affected are continuing to re-build their lives and livelihoods. But while much of the emphasis on the relief efforts has focused on providing food and shelter, the Church in the Philippines has also been turning its attention to the psychological trauma people have suffered as result of the disaster.
Many people lost not only their homes but also many of their family members and it is on both these levels that the Church has been concentrating its efforts following the Typhoon.
Fr Carlos Ronquillo is Director of the Saint Alfhonsus Theological and Mission Institute in the Philippines. He says men and women religious working in the field having been recounting how those affected, although happy to receive relief goods, were never allowed to tell their stories.
He believes providing, what he calls, a psycho social intervention to help victims through their grief and loss should be “an integral component in any effort that should be done by the Church in responding to disaster situations like the Typhoon”.
Redemptorist Fr Ronquillo goes on to say, that judging from experiences he has had responding to recent natural disasters in his country,“ I fully believe now that without any psychological intervention our response as a Church would still be deficient.”
Typhoon Haiyan claimed the lives of 6,000 people, and an estimated 4.1 million people are still living in temporary shelters. Listen to Lydia O’Kane’s interview with Fr Carlos Ronquillo