Reimagining Education with Imagination

Credit: UNICEFBy Yasmine SherifNEW YORK, May 12 2021 (IPS) The month of May marks mental health awareness month or mental health awareness week in several countries around the world. Many people will be reading posts and blogs about the importance of getting more sunshine and exercise to avoid the blues, about ways to deal with the stress of the pandemic, about dealing with everyday challenges that disrupt our striving for happiness. But for children and youth caught in emergencies and protracted crises who are living through the extreme stress and adversity of armed conflicts, forced displacement, attacks on schools and climate-induced disasters, the need for mental health and psychosocial support services extends far beyond wellness remedies. It requires a sincere understanding of their suffering and a profound recognition of their resilience. As we look to care for our own mental health, it is also crucial that we also take action to care for the mental health of the world’s most vulnerable: crisis-affected girls and boys. Their lives torn apart, their dispossession, their fears and soul-shattering experiences can either make or break them. What has become clear to us at ECW, and the education sector as a whole, is the importance of continuing to invest in and further deepen mental health and psychosocial support – yes there’s a hashtag for that: #MHPSS – across ECW’s broad portfolio of investments. Yasmine SherifEvery day, ECW and our partners are investing ...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Tags: Education Gender Global Headlines Health Human Rights Humanitarian Emergencies Migration & Refugees Poverty & SDGs TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news