Help vital relief work in Darfur, Sudan

With national staff most often the direct targets of critical incidents, the Staff Welfare Programme has been designed to reach out to Sudanese aid staff. Of 193 participants who took part in the program, 124 were national staff. The 3-day courses Foundation of Staff Welfare and Critical Incident Training, and Management of Staff Welfare and Critical Incidents Training have been praised by aid staff working to help people affected by the crisis in Darfur. Feedback showed that the participants really valued developing stress management techniques; and after completing the course they were able to apply new knowledge within their own organizations. One example of ongoing impact is the Critical Incident Support Network, formed from 15 local staff who have completed staff welfare training. Its members have responded to numerous critical incidents such as car-jackings, employee death, armed robberies, abductions and arrests, by providing help and support to affected aid workers. After attending the training, Mohammed, a Sudanese member of staff said: “The CISM course changed my life. In the past I felt like I didn’t have any support to help me in the field. Recently I have felt afraid to go to the field, even though this is my job. I stopped going to the field four months ago because of the last incident that happened to me. Management was thinking about sending me to Khartoum to meet a specialist. After taking the course, I felt supported, and I was able to immediately resume my field activities. One week after the course I spent three days in the field. Before I said never again will I go the field. My wife would not even let me return to the field. After the course I felt prepared for anything that could happen.