March 5, 2018 - Starting Work at MEDU
Mark here. I have started working with MEDU (Medici per i Diritti Umani or Doctors for Human Rights). I met with the staff in their main administrative office and spent some time talking with Alberto Barbieri (General Coordinator for MEDU) about their operations and how I might be involved in what they are doing. They have a staff of about ten people and about 50 volunteers in Rome. Alberto suggested that I see and learn about their operations for a week to ten days and then sit down with him to discuss where we feel I could offer help or support and what I am interested in doing.
In Rome, in addition to housing the administrative functions for all of their operations (including fund raising, advocacy, etc.), they run a mobile medical clinic (a motor home they take to where refugees are living and provide medical care several nights a week) and an office where they provide psychological services (for refugees who have experienced significant trauma), general psycho-social skills (e.g., Italian language learning, basic job skills, and help in navigating government systems), and opportunities for connection with other migrants/refugees (e.g., They have a music group and a theater group that each meet weekly and that are preparing for a performance in June.).
Alberto said that I could be involved in any of those things. I will spend the next week attending and observing each of these different operations. Because of my background in group psychotherapy, we talked briefly about me helping them to develop some psycho-educational groups/workshops for refugees who are on MEDU's lengthy waiting list for psychological services. We also talked about me helping them with some research. At this point I find all of the operations we discussed quite interesting.
Alberto said that most of their clientele (about 90%) are referred by "reception centers" for asylum seekers. Apparently the refugees go there first to seek permission to stay in the country and are taken there from the entry points into the country, like the coast of Sicily (Alberto said that 70+ refugees were rescued from a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily last night, and that MEDU's Sicilian operators would be going to meet with them today.). When workers in the reception centers see people in need of physical and psychological help, they refer them to organizations like MEDU.
I hope I can actually contribute something and not get in the way of what MEDU is trying to do. There are so many people who have suffered significantly and need the help to feel human again. I feel honored to be able to have this opportunity to serve, learn, and grow.
In Rome, in addition to housing the administrative functions for all of their operations (including fund raising, advocacy, etc.), they run a mobile medical clinic (a motor home they take to where refugees are living and provide medical care several nights a week) and an office where they provide psychological services (for refugees who have experienced significant trauma), general psycho-social skills (e.g., Italian language learning, basic job skills, and help in navigating government systems), and opportunities for connection with other migrants/refugees (e.g., They have a music group and a theater group that each meet weekly and that are preparing for a performance in June.).
Alberto said that I could be involved in any of those things. I will spend the next week attending and observing each of these different operations. Because of my background in group psychotherapy, we talked briefly about me helping them to develop some psycho-educational groups/workshops for refugees who are on MEDU's lengthy waiting list for psychological services. We also talked about me helping them with some research. At this point I find all of the operations we discussed quite interesting.
Alberto said that most of their clientele (about 90%) are referred by "reception centers" for asylum seekers. Apparently the refugees go there first to seek permission to stay in the country and are taken there from the entry points into the country, like the coast of Sicily (Alberto said that 70+ refugees were rescued from a shipwreck off the coast of Sicily last night, and that MEDU's Sicilian operators would be going to meet with them today.). When workers in the reception centers see people in need of physical and psychological help, they refer them to organizations like MEDU.
I hope I can actually contribute something and not get in the way of what MEDU is trying to do. There are so many people who have suffered significantly and need the help to feel human again. I feel honored to be able to have this opportunity to serve, learn, and grow.
Cool opportunity, Mark. Glad you're trying to make a difference! -Dallas
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