“Emotional literacy” for students, to overcome the wounds of the war

To help people, especially young people and students, deal with their emotions effectively, appropriately and productively. To develope positive social interactions with other people in society, also of different culture, ethnicity and religion: with these purposes, particularly useful in the social fabric of Sri Lanka, a nation wounded by over 25 years of interethnic war, the Catholic Church has launched a special program of “emotional literacy” in schools. As Agenzia Fides learns, Caritas Sri Lanka, the social service of the Catholic Bishops of Sri Lanka, has selected 12 schools spread over six dioceses to start the seminars.

The goal of this project is to increase well-being and endurance among school students to contact, recognize and handle their emotions. This, will also be useful in preventing self-harm that in some cases leads to attempted suicide by young people. In addition, through this program, school teachers will also be able to understand their role and identify signs of suffering in children.

As part of the program, Caritas Sri Lanka has trained a group of Sinhalese ethnic and cultural counsilors and Tamil mediums who visit the different schools. The counsilors of Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee operate with the support of the well-known psychiatrist consultant Dr. Sivathas Sivasubramanium. “The program will begin soon and will involve 12 schools. Children will learn to have healthy mental well-being and the assistance and psychological support provided will improve social cohesion”, says to Fides Dr. Sivasubramanium.

The emotional literacy program acquires particular importance as children have suffered greatly in the past due to the bloody civil war of Sri Lanka, which started in 1983 and lasted 26 years. The war, which caused around 100,000 victims, was fought on ethnic grounds between the Tamil rebels and the Sinhalese majority government. The two communities were also divided by a religious factor, being the Sinhalese (75% of the population) of Buddhist religion, and the Tamils (11% of the population) of Hindu religion, out of a population of about 22 million inhabitants. (Agenzia Fides)

Escaping from Scam Center on Cambodia’s Bokor Mountain

Young people being deceived into forced labor by criminal gangs, primarily involving illegal work in Chinese-controlled special zones in Cambodia, has become a pressing issue not only in Vietnam but across Southeast Asia.

Read More

UN Security Council Meets to Discuss Children and Armed Conflict

Vanessa Frazier, Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations, introduces a resolution at the Security Council meeting on children and armed conflict.

Read More

10 Shocking Revelations from Bangladesh Commission’s Report About Ex-PM Hasina-Linked Forced Disappearances

Macabre killings, casual torture, misdirection and snooping were part of “the anatomy of enforced disappearances” linked to deposed Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, an inquiry commission said in its first report.

Read More

Migration Dynamics Shifting Due to New US Administration New Regional Laws

In 2024, there was a slowdown in the number of migrants traveling from Latin America to the United States, in part due to new policies and controls put in place in the so-called transit countries that migrants pass through on their way north. Migration dynamics are being reshaping by these measures as well as the new U.S. presidential administration’s promises of mass deportations.

Read More

UN Security Council Meets to Discuss the Maintenance of International Peace and Security and Artificial Intelligence

Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States of America, chairs the United Nations Security Council meeting on Maintenance of International Peace and Security and Artificial Intelligence.

Read More

Winter Brings New Challenges for Residents living in Ukraine’s Donetsk Region

The front line is continually shifting in the Donetsk region of Eastern Ukraine, and Russian shelling is causing more and more damage to nearby cities.Active fighting is putting residents in danger in Dobropillia, while residents of Kostyantynivka, around 7 kilometers from the contact line, frequently have disruptions in heating fuel.

Read More

Permanent Representative of Israel Briefs Press at UN Headquarters

Danny Danon, Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations, briefs reporters prior to the United Nations Security Council meeting on the Middle East.

Read More

Hospitals Overwhelmed in Vanuatu as Death and Damage Toll Mounts from Quake

Vanuatu on Wednesday took stock of damage from a powerful 7.3 magnitude earthquake that killed at least 14 people and collapsed buildings in the capital, as the first trickle of international assistance began arriving in the disaster-prone Pacific nation.

Read More

Subscribe Our You Tube Channel

Fighting Fake News

Fighting Lies

For More