HOP is a joint-implementer of a project entitled “Education in Emergency and Psycho-social Support for Crisis-Affected Children in the Central Zone of Tigray, Ethiopia”. The project commenced implementation on 1 June 2024 and will continue to be implemented until 30 November 2024. It targets 2015 school children (1228 Male and 785 female) and 61 teachers in Gendebta and Mayshiho primary schools of Adwa Woreda.
As component activity of this project HOP provided PSS training for a total of 29 (13 male and 16 female) teachers, students, religious leaders, and education personnel in Adwa. It was provided for three days (On 19-21 July 2024) to equip participants with essential skills to assist children in recovering from trauma. The training aimed to help individuals recover after a crisis has disrupted their lives and to enhance their ability to return to normality after experiencing adverse events. The PSS training was limited to non-specialized service provision and not specialized mental health or child protection case management services.
The trained education personnel comprised supporting mechanisms such as parents-teachers associations, mother’s students associations and school management associations. Two people living with disability took part in the training. Building the capacity of schools, relevant institutions, and social structures is a priority within the child protection interventions to address conflict-induced trauma and support restoring the well-being of affected people. This is vital to their well-being, which often is translated into negative behavior such as engaging in physical and humiliating punishments of children, psychological punishment of children, absenteeism, and lack of interest in their duties