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ANNUAL REPORT 2021

 

• Word from the Chairman
   

Last September 2021, visit to Lesbos: Wendy, fellow board member and I were walking through the city looking for a terrace, after a day of several meetings and networking conversations with other NGOs. I immediately spotted her... the lawyer, a tough lady who had attended our workshop the year before. She recognised me and was clearly happy to see us and after catching up for a moment she said: "What I never forget from your training is that I don't have to be aloof when I hear the nasty stories of the refugees, I am allowed to put my compassion into words and if I feel tears, I am allowed to say that the story moves me. It has helped me a lot to know that this does not harm the refugees, but that it helps them to see that I am involved and that they feel seen. I also pass this on to the young volunteers who come to work here".

This is in a nutshell what a.o. World Psychologists wants to achieve on Lesbos and also in a general sense: Psychological support of lawyers/volunteers who are facing a very difficult task to help these refugees in their asylum procedure.
 

• Goal World Psychologists
   

Psycho-social assistance and support in emergency situations as well as in all other situations in which a structural form of this assistance is lacking, anywhere in the world, to victims and other persons in need of assistance and/or relief workers and/or other persons involved in such situations. The latter to prevent secondary traumatisation. Help can be given in various forms: both individual and group help and both treatment and training of volunteers.

 

• Activities 2021
   

Lesbos

-Psychic support from the volunteers of NGO Fenix, Humanitarian Legal Aid on the ground and on-line. This is an NGO focusing on legal aid for asylum seekers

-Psychological support (indirect) for the refugees who are clients of Fenix. (most vulnerable, minors without parents, single women, disabled people)

- Short visit of Gea and Wendy to Lesbos to support the volunteers on Lesbos and make new contacts, explore partnerships.
 

Other activities

-IAA (International Association of Atheists), Trauma treatment (EMDR-online) to apostates with PTSD

-Extension of the foundation. A core group of 15 volunteers is active. They meet online once every 6 weeks for consultation and intervision.

-Extension of network. There are constant contacts with other organisations to investigate whether cooperation is possible and desirable.
 

• Profile of the organisation
   

Mission

The mission of the World Psychologists Foundation is to provide rapid and structural psycho-social assistance and support in emergency situations.
 

Vision

The World Psychologists Foundation's vision is to be able to respond flexibly to emergencies anywhere in the world and to provide rapid psycho-social support with an expert team, either on-site or online, where necessary. The Foundation wants to form a network of many expert psychologists and psychotherapists, who voluntarily offer help and can be called upon.

 

 

• Strategy

The Foundation tries to achieve its aim, among other things, by organising and offering psycho-social help in or around refugee camps or at other locations where refugees and/or their helpers are staying, anywhere in the world, on site or remotely via available means of communication (Skype, whatsapp, zoom).
 

• Board and staff
   

Gea Dunnik, Chairman
 

Myra Haakman, Secretary
 

Jeanette Jaspers, Member of the Executive Board
 

Wendy Weijts, Member of the Executive Board
 

Rob Hendrikse, Treasurer
 

Note
The board has been expanded with Wendy Weijts (general board member) and Rob Hendrikse (treasurer) because of the growing size of the Foundation. Rob has taken over the tasks of treasurer from Jeanette Jaspers who is now a general board member.

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• Working methods and successes

By now, 15 psychologists are connected to the World Psychologists Foundation; we have been able to attract them via linked-in, via the website or via verbal advertising.

The psychologists get a short introduction by phone and if found adequate they are added to the World Psychologists whatsapp group. They receive documents that are relevant to the volunteer work. Once every 6 weeks there is intervision and current affairs and possible difficulties with the work are discussed.

The psychologists who carry out the online treatment of IAA clients are in close contact with each other, in order to be able to properly assess the assistance provided. Intervision takes place once every two weeks because of complex problems and discussion of online EMDR treatment.

Within the framework of fundraising, WereldPsychologen organised a benefit dinner, which raised a lot of money. In addition, contact has been made with the ZWO committee Alphen aan den Rijn and they are prepared to support the Foundation financially for a number of years with an annual contribution.

 

 

• Financial statements

 See separate annex
 

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Targets 2022
-In the coming year we will try to actually realise the first mission to Lesbos.

-Expand cooperation with IAA: Cooperation will be further explored and expanded. Among other things, cooperation with IAA will be further expanded.

-Extend Fenix help by guiding online intervision.

-Cooperation with other organisations to further shape direct trauma support online.

-Fundraising to obtain structural resources to realise these goals.

- Attention will also be paid to other hotspots and refugees elsewhere in the world. If possible and necessary, WorldPsychologists will scale up for emergency situations anywhere in the world.