China, Afghanistan Thank NBCC for Assistance

NBCC’s efforts to help meet the special mental health needs in China and Afghanistan have drawn commendations from both governments.

The China Youth Development Foundation issued a Certificate of Appreciation to NBCC International for its contribution to relief efforts in the region devastated by a major earthquake last May.

The certificate specifically thanked NBCC-I “for providing its Mental Health Facilitator curriculum and training of trainers without cost to help improve the mental health of teachers and students in the Sichuan earthquake zone.”

Through a grant from the NBCC Foundation, NBCC-I gave its China partner Psych-cn the Mental Health Facilitator (MHF) curriculum and approved the Chinese translation at no charge.

NBCC-I is also arranging for former Board Chair Dr. John Bloom of Brownsburg, IN, to travel to Sichuan Province to serve as a master trainer. The other master trainer will be Dr. Helena Guo, an NCC who studied at Vanderbilt University.

The donation followed a visit to the quake area in late October by NBCC-I Executive Vice President Ted Iliff. He said the severity and extent of the devastation was beyond description, and his conversations with survivors and mental health professionals there underscored the need for assistance.

“Not only are school children showing the effects of the quake trauma,” Iliff said, “but so are teachers. MHF training in the region will help to address immediate mental health needs, and we hope it will also serve as a starting point for a more comprehensive system providing counseling during the long recovery period ahead.”

The MHF training program teaches basic mental health skills and concepts to helpers and first responders who are not working in the mental health fields. NBCC International developed the curriculum in consultation with the World Health Organization.

In Afghanistan, the Ministry of Education prepared a letter of thanks to NBCC- I for its help in creation of a school counseling curriculum to be taught in its teacher training schools. During a site visit arranged by UNESCO, Iliff discussed elements of the Global Career Development Facilitator program and the MHF program and how elements of both could be folded into the school counseling curriculum.

School counselor training has already started in two provinces, and the ministry hopes to eventually spread it to every province. The ultimate goal is to place at least two trained counselors in every school in Afghanistan.