Bohol quake child survivors undergo stress debriefing

THE Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc. (RAFI) recently conducted stress debriefing sessions for around 200 children in barangay Bagohan, Inabanga, Bohol.

The participants were identified by the Bohol Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council (PDRRMC).

The activity also included games and storytelling, and the giving out of candies, school supplies and Akong Bugsay coloring books.

Akong Bugsay is a children’s book, written by Amaya Aboitiz, whose main character Andoy perseveres on his way to success.

Marivie Vistal, one of the participants of the stress debriefing sessions, recalled her experience during the Oct. 15 earthquake.

Marivie said she and her younger sibling were taking a dip in a nearby river when they felt the earth was moving.

She immediately grabbed the hand of his brother and ran away to avoid the rush of water, as the land around them started opening up.

“We were so afraid. We did not know what was happening. We just ran away. My little sibling was traumatized. We thought it was the end of the world,” Marivie said.

Marivie said both of them hid under a large rock. They prayed that the tremor would stop,” she said.

“When we reached home, our house was devastated. The floor has large cracks. The walls seem to fall down,” she added.

It was their grandmother who consoled them as their parents were out attending to errands, she said.

Two weeks has passed, Marivie said the fear is still there. “Sometimes, I cannot sleep early. Thoughts are running in my mind. We are very afraid of the aftershocks at night,” she said. “We always pray at night, asking God to save us,” she added.