Children of Chernobyl: A psycho-social empowerment project
The focus of this research has been to design and implement a social action project, using a Freirian Methodology for popular mental health among the victims of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear meltown disaster living in Belarus. Although Chernobyl is in the Ukraine, only 35 kilometers from Kiev, 70% of the 50 million curies of radiation from the 1986 Chernobyl meltdown fell on the Republic of Belarus. This continues to directly affect 2.4 million of the total population of 10 million people. These people, 800,000 of whom are children, still live in the radiated zones. They live with the knowledge that the food, the water, and the ground are slowly poisoning them through continued and ongoing exposure to radiation. While there has been some significant research on the medical effects of the disaster in the Ukraine, much more research needs to be done in Belarus. Very little research or treatment has responded to the emotional, mental health and psychosocial impacts of the disaster on individuals, families and communities. Following the introduction to the problem, a rationale for a new paradigm in Mental Health Treatment is presented in a chapter titled Liberation Psychology'. This chapter integrates fields of psychology, psychotherapy, social work, education, and community organization from a Freirian perspective. The Social Action Project is outlined and described in specific detail. The Social Action Project has led to medical, computer and school supplies being sent to Belarus. Workshops and training have been designed and implemented. Texts and manuals have been translated and published. Further, there is documentation of a joint conceptualization and design of this Children of Chernobyl' project with signed letters of agreement and a report of a fact finding mission to Belaraus. The Social Action Project is then evaluated with Future Planning discussed in the conclusion.
- Research Organization:
- Union Inst., Cincinnati, OH (United States)
- OSTI ID:
- 7023598
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Thesis (Ph.D)
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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290202* - Energy Planning & Policy- Sociology- (1992-)
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