Andrews University and relief workers with the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) have joined together to provide for more than just the physical needs of women and children who have been traumatized by war. 

“We have been so busy feeding and distributing blankets and food that no one really has ever been there to listen,” says Sharon Pittman, chair of the university’s social work department.

The university, through its social work department, is teaching relief workers ways to help ease the emotional damage inflicted by war. “The goal is to create a database of certified mental health counselors that any humanitarian organization can call on when they’re responding to children living in crisis,” she explains.

“Traditionally, the focus of humanitarian relief work has been on providing material objects for the betterment of the community,” adds Pittman. “But in the past, there has been little emphasis on caring for the post-traumatic and psychosocial aspects of women and children refugees from places like Albania.  We are perhaps too comfortable with merely giving a blanket instead of intervening earlier with victims who have been traumatized.”

“We are working to mobilize people to make a difference,” says Pittman. 

Established in 1874, Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution located in Berrien Springs, Michigan.