An assessment of post-tsunami psychosocial training programmes in Tamilnadu, India

After the Tsunami struck Tamilnadu in India in 2004, a spate of psychosocial training programmes were held by a host of agencies, both government and non-government.

This study is an empirical approach to the assessment of the psychosocial training programmes held after tsunami. The nature and quality of training received by the community level workers (CLWs) and the interventions carried out by them are described.

CLWs were interviewed using a questionnaire to assess details about training and interventions carried out by them. Qualitative information was also gathered both from CLWs and the community. A comparison was made between CLWs of government, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and those belonging to self-help groups.

While most CLWs seemed to have benefited greatly from the training programmes, they had several suggestions to make about refining its quality. Multiple programmes, not well coordinated, resulted in a lot of overlap. The community was generally happy with the interventions provided and felt that they were necessary for about six months at least. One-to-one interventions are preferred to group activities, except in the case of children.

Psychosocial support (PSS) training programmes after a disaster situation will need to be coordinated by a nodal agency. Too many players on the field with their own agenda do not benefit the community and can well be a waste of resources.