今天GJXX小編搜羅了上海德威外籍人員子女學(xué)校校友Noemi S 有關(guān)我在烏干達(dá)的日日夜夜希望給擇校的家長(zhǎng)們提供參考。

Uganda has assured me that no matter how hard, lonely or tiring it may be at times, no matter how unsure the future is, no matter what my next adventure may be, this is the kind of life I want: living and working abroad to provide mental health and psychosocial support for vulnerable children, families and communities in the humanitarian context.

Since Noemi S graduated from Dulwich College Beijing (DCB) in 2011, she has built a career as a psychologist who specialises in providing mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for conflict- and crisis-affected populations in Europe, the Middle East and East Africa.

We were delighted to interview Noemi about her recent seven-month work placement in Uganda with the Child Protection unit of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency:

01What motivated you to go to Uganda, and what did you do there?

I was selected for a German/Swiss 12-month young professionals program called Mercator Fellowship on International Affairs, which started in October 2020 and was composed of two work placements with international organisations. Throughout my fellowship year, my focus was strengthening the mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) of refugee children and families in the Middle East and East Africa. I chose a Danish non-governmental organization (NGO) in Jordan for my first work placement and ended up with the Child Protection unit of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Kampala, Uganda.    Having had a substantial amount of work experience in the Middle East, I was motivated to dive into a new refugee context. Uganda hosts over 1.5 million refugees, mostly from Congo and South Sudan, and is a great example of a self-reliance policy that allows refugees freedom of movement and the right to work in Uganda. Among many tasks, I went on field missions to evaluate MHPSS activities and advise implementing partners on adapting said activities based on context-specific challenges, such as increased gender-based violence and suicide rates in the refugee settlements.

02What are some key takeaways – both personal and professional – from your time there?

It's difficult to sum up my experience in a few words. One thing I learned is how complex humanitarian aid in the refugee context is, especially in a country with such a high existing level of poverty. I learned that mental health needs to be viewed and addressed as much more crosscutting and holistically than it currently is. Everything is interconnected. 

For instance, if you don't address the mental state of a refugee enrolled in a livelihoods program, they will never fully benefit from that humanitarian aid because they may currently lack the mental and psychosocial capacity to work. An inter-sectoral response requires mental health and mental illness to be viewed as overarching in all programmes, whether it be education, health, livelihoods or other sectors. I was personally moved by how incredibly strong the refugee communities were. Their resilience and community spirit during the especially challenging times of the Covid-19 pandemic is remarkable. 

Another main takeaway is that I am more motivated than ever to continue working in this field.

03What surprised you the most about your experience?

Although I've lived in many countries, I still feel surprised about how quickly I am able to dive into completely foreign cultures. Arriving in Uganda marked my first time on the African continent, and I was positively surprised by how quickly I adapted to the chaotic way of life in Kampala. I was surprised by how "normal" living in Kampala felt after only a few weeks and how open other expats as well as locals were in helping me integrate and feel welcome.

04Did your Dulwich experience influence your passion / dedication to MHPSS? If so, how? Why did you decide to enter the field of mental health and psychosocial support?

It absolutely did! Dulwich was my first real exposure to the field of psychology as well as to vulnerable populations. Parallel to studying psychology (my favourite subject!) during the IB, I was involved in DCB's social projects such as teaching English to children in a migrant school outside of Beijing. These early experiences sparked my wish to study psychology with a focus on child development.    With that knowledge, I wanted to work with vulnerable populations such as the displaced. For me, MHPSS is all about applying my acquired psychology knowledge to working with crisis-affected children, families and communities and understanding their unique needs but also their resources and capacities. It is about destigmatizing mental illness and sustainably empowering vulnerable populations in strengthening their own mental health and psychosocial wellbeing and ultimately re-building their lives. That is my professional as well as personal goal. 

05Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for current students/alumni who are looking to do something similar in the future?

Keep an open mind and don't let others (including your parents!) tell you what to study or what kind of field to work in. Stay flexible. You don't need to have a 5-year plan in mind, you're still so young and have many different paths ahead of you. Indulge in the unknown, because it is full of opportunity, potential and room to grow. Think about what excites and interests you in this moment and go along that path, but don't be afraid to try new things.    For example, I had actually started a PhD in developmental psychology after my master's degree and realised after some time that it's just not for me, as I wasn't having anywhere near the extent of impact on children that I wanted to have as a psychologist. Everyone around me told me that it's an honor to have been selected for such a prestigious position and that I shouldn't give up an opportunity like that, which made me so insecure. After one year, I was courageous enough to drop out of the PhD and I can honestly say this is one of the best decisions I've ever made. But it's different for everyone!    Don't ever give in to what societal or cultural norms may dictate you to do when choosing your career. Be you, and don't ever go against your own beliefs and values!

  

We are so proud of Noemi and the work she is now doing to make a positive impact on the world. We wish her all the best in her future endeavours as a psychologist providing mental health and psychosocial support for vulnerable populations around the world.

校友風(fēng)采

Noemi S

有關(guān)我在烏干達(dá)的日日夜夜

將心理學(xué)知識(shí)應(yīng)用于受危機(jī)影響的兒童、家庭和社區(qū)，從他們的獨(dú)特需求出發(fā)，依據(jù)他們所擁有的資源和能力，可持續(xù)地實(shí)施心理援助以增強(qiáng)他們的心理健康，并最終重建他們的生活，這是我的目標(biāo)。

從歐洲，到中東，再到東非，Noemi在世界各地為弱勢(shì)群體提供心理援助。在此期間，她看到了世界的處處不同，也更多地意識(shí)到自己所做的事情，可以釋放的巨大能量。通過自己的所作所為，為世界作出貢獻(xiàn)，是熠熠生輝的理想。而這理想的起源，始于在德威的點(diǎn)點(diǎn)滴滴。

最近，Noemi剛剛結(jié)束她在聯(lián)合國(guó)難民署兒童保護(hù)部門位于烏干達(dá)的工作，我們有幸采訪到她，一起聊聊這七個(gè)月中，她的所見所聞，所思所想！

01你為什么去到了烏干達(dá)？在那里，你做了什么？

我被選中參加一項(xiàng)名為Mercator Fellowship的國(guó)際事務(wù)相關(guān)項(xiàng)目，該項(xiàng)目與國(guó)際組織合作，組織青年專家們?cè)谙嚓P(guān)領(lǐng)域進(jìn)行分為兩段的，為期共12個(gè)月的國(guó)際事務(wù)工作。   我先后在位于約旦的一個(gè)非政府組織和位于坎帕拉的聯(lián)合國(guó)難民署兒童保護(hù)部門工作。在此期間，我的項(xiàng)目關(guān)注重點(diǎn)是中東及東非難民兒童和家庭的心理援助工作。   在中東有了大量的工作經(jīng)歷和切身體驗(yàn)后，我希望可以去看看在其他地方的難民的生存情況。我來(lái)到了烏干達(dá)。烏干達(dá)收容了超過150萬(wàn)難民，其中大部分來(lái)自剛果和南蘇丹。這里還是一個(gè)“自給自足”政策的經(jīng)典案例，難民們可以在烏干達(dá)自由行動(dòng)，并有權(quán)利在此工作。我在執(zhí)行工作時(shí)進(jìn)行了實(shí)地考察，以評(píng)估當(dāng)?shù)氐男睦斫】蹬c社會(huì)心理援助（M HPSS）活動(dòng)；并根據(jù)當(dāng)?shù)鼐唧w情況中的挑戰(zhàn)，如難民安置點(diǎn)中基于性別的暴力侵害行為以及自殺事件的增加，向我的執(zhí)行伙伴提出了調(diào)整建議。

02通過烏干達(dá)的經(jīng)歷，你最重要的收獲是什么（個(gè)人成長(zhǎng)或職業(yè)發(fā)展）？

這很難用只言片語(yǔ)來(lái)進(jìn)行概括。但這段經(jīng)歷讓我深深地意識(shí)到，在一個(gè)高度貧困國(guó)家，關(guān)于難民的人道主義援助是一個(gè)多么復(fù)雜的課題。我們需要全面地看待和處理他們的心理健康問題，因?yàn)橐磺卸际窍嗷リP(guān)聯(lián)的。舉例來(lái)說，如果不能去解決難民在維持生計(jì)中發(fā)生的心理問題，那么他們就無(wú)法真正從心理援助中獲益，因?yàn)樗麄冊(cè)诂F(xiàn)階段可能是缺乏足夠的心理能力去工作的。在整體的心理援助中，所有環(huán)節(jié)中心理健康問題都需要被分析和重視，不管是教育，健康，生計(jì)還是任何其他板塊。在此期間，我也被難民群體的強(qiáng)韌所感動(dòng)。在新冠疫情這個(gè)尤為充滿挑戰(zhàn)的時(shí)期，他們所展現(xiàn)的堅(jiān)韌和社區(qū)精神是非常卓越的。另一個(gè)對(duì)我來(lái)說很大的收獲就是，通過這段經(jīng)歷，我更加堅(jiān)定要繼續(xù)深耕在這個(gè)領(lǐng)域。        

03這段經(jīng)歷中最讓你驚喜的是什么？

我在許多國(guó)家生活過，但我仍沒想到自己可以如此迅速地融入一個(gè)陌生的文化。其實(shí)這是我第一次到非洲大陸，僅僅幾周后，我就對(duì)在坎帕拉有些混亂的生活狀態(tài)感到“習(xí)以為?！薄Ｔ谶@里的其他外國(guó)人和當(dāng)?shù)厝艘捕加袔椭胰谌氘?dāng)?shù)厣鐣?huì)并使我感到賓至如歸。

04你在德威的經(jīng)歷是否于你對(duì)MHPSS產(chǎn)生熱情有所影響？如果有的話，是如何影響的呢？你是為什么決定進(jìn)入心理健康與社會(huì)心理援助這個(gè)領(lǐng)域呢？
在德威的經(jīng)歷對(duì)我影響頗深！在德威，我第一次真正接觸了心理學(xué)，并且了解到了弱勢(shì)群體的存在。在IB課程中學(xué)習(xí)心理學(xué)（我最喜歡的科目）期間，我參加了一些北京德威英國(guó)國(guó)際學(xué)校組織的社會(huì)項(xiàng)目，比如去往北京郊區(qū)的打工子弟學(xué)校教孩子們英語(yǔ)。這些早期的經(jīng)歷，激發(fā)了我以兒童心理發(fā)展為重心，繼續(xù)學(xué)習(xí)心理學(xué)的愿望。具備相關(guān)知識(shí)后，我想要為更多弱勢(shì)群體提供援助，比如流離失所的難民們。   對(duì)我來(lái)說，MHPSS就是將心理學(xué)知識(shí)應(yīng)用于受危機(jī)影響的兒童、家庭和社區(qū)，從他們的獨(dú)特需求出發(fā)，依據(jù)他們所擁有的資源和能力，可持續(xù)地實(shí)施心理援助以增強(qiáng)他們的心理健康，并最終重建他們的生活，這是我的目標(biāo)。

  

05對(duì)于希望在未來(lái)做類似事情的在校學(xué)生/校友，你有什么建議或鼓勵(lì)嗎？

保持開放的心態(tài)，不要讓別人(包括你的父母)告訴你要學(xué)什么、在什么領(lǐng)域工作。   保持靈活。你不必制定5年計(jì)劃，你還很年輕，還可以選擇很多不同的路徑。欣賞未知，因?yàn)樗錆M機(jī)遇、潛力和成長(zhǎng)。   想想此時(shí)此刻什么讓你興奮和感興趣，然后沿著這條路走下去，但是不要害怕嘗試新事物。拿我自己來(lái)說，我在獲得碩士學(xué)位后，其實(shí)有選擇開始攻讀發(fā)展心理學(xué)博士學(xué)位，但過了一段時(shí)間后我意識(shí)到這不適合我，因?yàn)樽鲆幻睦韺W(xué)家對(duì)孩子的影響遠(yuǎn)不及我所期望的那樣。我身邊的每個(gè)人都告訴我，能被選中擔(dān)任這樣一個(gè)有聲望的職位是一種榮譽(yù)，我不應(yīng)該放棄這樣一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)，這讓我感到很不安。一年后，我蓄滿足夠的勇氣放棄了博士學(xué)位，坦白說，這是我所做過的最好的決定之一。但是每個(gè)人的情況都是不一樣的！   在選擇職業(yè)時(shí)，千萬(wàn)不要屈從社會(huì)標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。做你自己，永遠(yuǎn)不要放棄自己的信念和價(jià)值觀！

  

我們?yōu)镹oemi以及她現(xiàn)在

為對(duì)世界產(chǎn)生積極影響

所做的工作感到自豪。

我們祝愿她

在未來(lái)作為一名心理專家一切順利，

為世界各地的弱勢(shì)群體

提供更多援助和支持。