Asia-Australia Mental Health's project with Peking University China to Protect Children in Disasters has been rated highly by an external evaluator.
Prof. Louise Edwards, Director and Dr Chen Minglu, Research Associate of The China Research Centre, University of Technology Sydney recently evaluated the first stage of this highly innovative project to develop guidelines and train-the-train materials for teachers and community leaders to protect children's mental health in disasters.
The report concluded that the project: "...showed that it was possible to enhance existing local strategies, avoiding duplication, and with limited cost, produce self-sustaining mechanisms for advancing children's well being within contexts of community stress".
In addition, the evaluators indicated: "As a program designed to be self-perpetuating and building local, grass roots knowledge, the 'Protecting Children's Mental Health in Disasters Project' demonstrated its potential to responsively adapt to local cultural conditions".
AAMH hopes to upscale the project in China and begin pilots in other countries in the region in the coming year.
You can view the full report here [pdf, 459 kb, 12 pages]. Also, you can view further information on the Protecting Children in Disasters page.