What is more Dangerous than Lockdown? Greetings from South - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What is more Dangerous than Lockdown?

Dr Joan van Niekerk Edith Kriel

Greetings from South Africa

• We would like this webinar

to provide an opportunity for colleagues in Africa (and

• ther regions) to post their

comments and experiences relating to children and the COVID 19 pandemic in the questions side bar so that we can share experiences, challenges and ideas relating to solutions

• This will enrich the content
• f the webinar!

Lockdown down

• Announced on 23rd March
• Implemented on 28th

March Purpose

• To contain the rapid

escalation of Covid 19 infection to enable the preparation of medical facilities and resources for anticipated patients

• To flatten the curve of

infection

The “double whammy”

• On 28th March 2020 Moody’s

international rating agency declared investment

• pportunities in South Africa as

having “Junk status”.

• For the past year South Africa’s

economy has been in a recessionary period.

• Slow growth, high

unemployment.

• This was an economic disaster –

a severe blow to the economy that was already in crisis.

• t
• the

her r pre-Covid vid 19 19 fac actor tors

• High levels of domestic violence

and child abuse to the extend that pre-Covid 19 the President labelled this as a national crisis

• Pre-existing health issues

– high levels of HIV and AIDS (16% of population infected)

• High levels of Tuberculosis
• Health services limited and under

pressure World Health Organisation “the health of the most vulnerable people among us is a determining factor for the health of all of us.”

The e Lockdown down – how did life chang nge? e?

• 5 levels – started at level 5 – with

the most serious limitations on public freedom

• Stay at home – strictly enforced by

the army and police (feeling for many like the return of the apartheid management of “townships” Joyce Siwani – struggle veteran)

• No outside exercise
• Schools, gyms, restaurants, hotels,

etc closed

• Shops open – must have masks and
• bserve social distancing
• Shops only allowed to sell certain

“essential goods”

How did life change

▪ Only essential service providers allowed to travel to and from work ▪ Only manufacturers

• f food and

essential provisions (eg medical supplies) were allowed to operate. ▪ Other people who did have work/jobs were not allowed to go to work ▪ For many this meant a collapse of business

The sale of alcohol and cigarettes was banned in theory – great But did not take into account the addictive nature of these substances and the fact that adults dealing with sudden withdrawal would be confined in their homes with their children/families.

Mes essages es from m government….

• Were sometimes

conflicting

• Were not clear as to the

purpose of the lockdown – and repeated often enough

• r explained sufficiently –

what does “flattening the curve” mean to a semi- literate population?

• Did not take into account

the country’s lack of preparedness

• Did not take into account

the circumstances of many communities

For example……

• Wash your hands with soap
• How do I do this if I live in a

poor and rural communities have no clean piped water

• Stay in your home
• What do you do if your home

has no toilet and you have to use a communal toilet as in many informal settlements?

• Wear a mask
• Where can I get one – what

kind of mask?

What changed for parents and caregivers

• They are under considerable stress –

anxious about their own health and the health of children

• Unable in many instances to provide for

their families as they had lost their jobs

• r would not be paid
• As schools closed, they found

themselves having to assume the role of teachers to prevent children falling behind at school. As many parents are semi-literate, this is a huge challenge.

• Having to confine their children in small

spaces

Wh What t cha hang nged ed for

• r pa

parents ents

• Unable to feed their

families

• Many were unable to

clothe their families appropriately and a cold winter had started

Pandemics don’t heal div ivis isions – they reveal them (F (Frie iedman)

Experiences of lock down were vastly different for different sectors of the population – the contrasts between the rich and the poor are extreme

Challenges for Child protection

• Initially vetinerary

services were regarded as essential – but not child protection services.

• This brought NGO child

protection services together to lobby for their inclusion in essential services to children during the lockdown.

St State and some NGO service ces came to a grin inding halt lt

• There was a dearth of CP services
• The child protection lobby then worked with

government to motivate for services and assist with crisis policies, such as developing standard

• perating procedures for managing child abuse.
• UNICEF played an active role in keeping lines of

communication open.

• Partnerships developed between government and

NGOs.

But we are still ill strugg ggling wit ith state CP servic ices

• For example: Safe care for abused

mother and her children who were exposed to a serious domestic violence incident between their parents, fuelled by alcohol.

• A failure to ensure that children

attend therapy

• A lack of acknowledgement of the

contribution that NGOs working in child protection are making and no funding – with many NGO staff working on reduced salaries.

The CP sector had to assume new roles: : the provision of f food

Many NGOs started to feed the hungry Government intervened, closed soup kitchens and NGO distribution, saying that all food provision had to be distributed through government. This was a total failure

• They were unable to reach all who needed food
• Food parcels contained items that required cooking

but many families had no fuel (gas or electricity)

• Levels of corruption relating to food parcels was high

For example – a colleague in a rural town noted (28th May 2020)

• 1. Government was

distributing the parcels under the banner of the ANC and not acknowledging the donors;

• 2. Some areas Government

was only giving to ANC supporters;

• 3. Some unscrupulous ANC

Councillors and government workers were selling the food parcels which were donated by South African individuals and corporations;

• 4. Food parcels were only

going to South African Citizens and not to those resident in this nation;

• 5. Some desired items

were being removed from food parcels by those distributing them.

Issues sues re e foo

• od
• The result was
• NGO’s ignored the regulation regarding the

distribution of food

• The government regulation was challenged in court

by a group of NGOs and overturned.

The impact on children?

Little was known how children are experiencing the lock down – however Childline South Africa and an NGO called Media Monitoring Africa have begun processes

• f child consultation.

“The real crisis of this current pandemic is not necessarily the next six months. It really is: What are we going to do with the social and emotional toll that this is having on individuals and families, who will remain the most marginalized for the next six decades?”

Dr Bruce Perry

Thanks to: Childline South Africa for the quotations

government should not allow the selling of alcohol because I think it is a bad idea as people make bad choices when they are drunk (10-12)

I worry about my mom , she is in hospital (5-10). So many people are dying and getting infected with the virus, i worry that everyone is going to die (5-10)

When they announced that there was to be a lockdown, I freaked out because I felt like it was the end of the world and we're all gonna die. Which is ironic since I'm home ALL day everyday but now I feel trapped inside my house. Perhaps I'm claustrophobic? (18) I think they should check on children more regularly, and make sure that when they talk to children, to allow children to give more honest answers, because most children are hurt and prefer to bottle up their emotions and so they should be free to speak because we do not know if they are being abused or if everything is okay at home or not or how they are

• feeling. they should communicate

more with the children and visit them more often (10-12)

What do our children say?

Thinking

Feeling

Regulation

Survival Thinking

Feeling

Regulation

Survival

What happens in your brain when things are going well: all the parts of their brain are ‘online’ and working together What happens in our brain during times of extreme stress and trauma: focus is on survival, and the thinking brain goes ‘offline’

Dr Bruce Perry

Tip ip 1: you cant talk children out of fear 2: behaviour is biological

• What is the child thinking, feeling and

experiencing / sensing internally?

• With this understanding what can I

do to respond to the child’s head, heart and ‘hands’

Trauma / distress is ‘stored’ in our

Head, Heart and Hands

HHH

It all starts with…

CONNECTION & REGULATION

How to bring children’s levels of distress (physiological arousal) down

5 Love languages

What about hugs?

Regulation includes:

• Connection through mutual enjoyment & really ‘listening’
• Tailor regulatory strategies to the child’s capacities and

realities

• How you regulate yourself and what is the child ‘hearing

from your levels of distress’

He Helping lping childr ildren en to calm lm do down wn

Some ideas to get started…

Exp xpress ssing ng emo moti tions:

• ns:
• Some children show emotion only in

non-verbal ways

• Some children may be detached and

deny feeling

• Some children are uncontained

emotionally

• Many children battle to identify what

they are feeling and not have the vocabulary to express their internal states

Knowing and understanding is different

What about children with disabilities?

Do you speak child?

‘verbal’ & ‘non-verbal’

Trauma-informed Psychological 1st Aid

(information & tools)

for frontline people

Mastery & Transitional objects

Re-imagine

We have permission to think creatively about what we do and how we do it!

Thank you for every rything you do for our chil ildren!

Dr Joan van Niekerk: joanvn@iafrica.com Edith Kriel: edith@jellybeanz.org.za ; www.jellybeanz.org.za ; FB Jelly Beanz

The he im impact act of

• f str

tress ess an and tr trau auma ma

Physical Health Behaviour Emotions Mental health Relationships Learning

Sleeping problems Eating problems Poor immune system Impaired readiness & ability to learn Difficulty problem solving Concentration problems Difficulty controlling emotions Trouble recognizing emotions Limited coping skills Increased sensitivity Excessive worry, hopelessness, helplessness and sense of efficacy Poor self regulation Social withdrawal Aggression Poor impulse control Risk taking Sexual acting out Drugs/alcohol misuse Problems with connecting with

• thers

Difficulty understanding social interactions Difficulty with making new relationships Depression Anxiety Negative self esteem Suicidal thoughts Self harming

Wh What t could uld we e expect xpect to see e afte fter r lo lockdown down e.g .g. . in in the e classr lassroom?

• om?

CHILDREN ARE DYSREGULATED (THEIR BRAINS ARE NOT CALM) THEY MAY BE COMPLETELY TOO EMOTIONAL & OVERACTIVE, OR CUT OFF FROM EMOTIONS AND INACTIVE THEY MAY STRUGGLE TO LEARN AND REMEMBER THEY ARE VERY FOCUSSED ON NON-VERBAL BEHAVIOURS, NOT WORDS THEY ARE EXTRA SENSITIVE TO ADDED STRESS CHILDREN MAY BE MORE FOCUSSED ON NEGATIVE CUES IN THEIR ENVIRONMENT THEIR SENSES MAY BE SUPER-ALERT AND OVER- ACTIVE

Develop your

• wn

coping calendar

Make a coping calendar with your learners