Palestine Red Crescent Celebrates World Mental Health Day: Children’s Suffering During a Year of Aggression

Gaza - Ma'an - Today, the Mental Health Department of the Association organized a celebration on the occasion of World Mental Health Day, during which the launch of activities that will last for a week was announced at the Association's headquarters in Khan Yunis, in the presence of a number of department directors, Association volunteers, and representatives of local and international partner institutions. The ceremony included playing the Palestinian national anthem, a minute of silence for the souls of the nation's martyrs, a number of popular dabkeh performances, poetry, and heritage shows that embody the state of displacement and suffering as a result of the Israeli war. Mr. Nahed Balata, a member of the Emergency Committee in the Gaza Strip, confirmed in his speech on behalf of the association that this activity comes within the framework of the association's keenness to shed light on the psychological suffering of many victims of the ongoing Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people in the Ga za Strip. In the same context, he pointed out that the association worked to activate all the programs assigned to it to address the repercussions of the aggression, such as establishing medical points and field hospitals, ambulance services, relief and rehabilitation, youth and volunteers, in addition to the initial psychological support services provided by the association's mental health team, which works to provide psychological services to both the community and to providers of emergency and health services. 'What we face in the workplace is one of the main factors that affect our overall well-being and well-being, especially in light of the disasters we have witnessed over the past year. Therefore, today we focus on the importance of promoting mental health in the workplace and creating a supportive environment that contributes to the well-being of workers, which positively reflects on overall performance,' he added. During her speech at the celebration, Ms. Nevin Abdel Hadi, Director of the Departme nt of Mental Health, stressed the need to pay attention to the psychological aspect, which is a basic right that governments must care for and implement, contributing to supporting health and functional capabilities. She expressed her deep thanks to the association's management and volunteers for their continuous efforts for more than twenty years in supporting and providing psychological support services, especially in light of the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip. During the ceremony, a group of psychological specialists graduated who had joined training courses organized by the department in the southern governorates. At the end of the ceremony, attendees were invited to participate in the corners of the art exhibition of drawings by children who participated in the department's programmes and sessions during the aggression, and to view the paintings they drew during the psychological relief sessions organised for them by mental health specialists. Source: Maan News Agency