Kids in flood-hit areas must express trauma: Volunteers

A group of 12 volunteers from the city will head to Kerala and Kodagu where they will train the youth to teach therapeutic games to children traumatised by the floods.

Experts fear that the tragedy is intense and some children may find it harder to express the grief they feel. Games, they say, could be the best way to help them release the pain and trauma.

One of the volunteers, child rights activist Nagasimha G Rao, said the games have been designed with the help of experts in Nimhans.

"These are simple games," Rao said. "Some of these are indoor activities."

One of the activities is to give children a blank sheet to draw images coming to their mind. They are later asked to discuss this with their peers.

The sheet is then torn asunder and children are counselled that they could similarly overcome the thoughts of the tragic experiences.

Another activity is to let children make clay idols to gauge the extent of the trauma. "They'll be in so much shock that they won't be able to talk about what they saw. Some of them would have watched their family and friends die. Helping them speak is the first step to save them from depression," Rao said.

The team would initially train 15 volunteers, handpicked by Kerala's district child protection officers. They would then train the others to help the children.