Samoa: Offering psychological support as people rebuild lives after tsunami

NEWS | 09 October 2009

After nearly a week of assessments carried out in Samoa following the tsunami that struck islands in the South Pacific on Sept. 29, a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) team has found that the vast majority of medical and non-medical needs have been covered. An impressive international aid response has meant that food, water and clothing have been distributed, and people who required urgent medical care have received it.

The team has visited the southern coast of Samoa, the area which took the full impact of the tsunami. Assessments have also been carried out on Manono Island.

However, as people begin to build their lives again, the psychological impact of such significant loss of life and belongings is being felt. “Obviously people are traumatized,” says Veronique de Clerck, emergency coordinator in Samoa for MSF. “They have lost all their assets and some people have lost a large number of family members. There was one family we heard of who lost 13 members.”

In the next week, an MSF psychologist will provide training for a team of Samoan counsellors who will then offer psychosocial support to people affected by the disaster.

MSF plans to leave Samoa by mid-October, once psychological training has been delivered. “It was good to do an assessment after this natural disaster,” says de Clerck. “The most valuable information is found within the community and it is always important to see the situation of the people with our own eyes. They have lost pretty much all their assets, so it is important to see what state they are in, and what their medical and non-medical needs are.”

The official death toll in Samoa stands at 137, with eight people missing. There were 71 people who were seriously wounded.