Recovery after Conflict, Disaster, and the PandemicA Special Tribute to Tetsu Nakamura, 2003 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee

Speaker: Ananda Galappatti (2008 Ramon Magsaysay Awardee from Sri Lanka)
Moderator: Susan Bautista-Afan, President, Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
Language: English with Japanese subtitles
Release Date: March 15, 2022, 6:00 pm (JST)
Co-organizer/Program Partner: Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation
Co-organizer: Shahani Associates
Sponsors: Japan Foundation Asia Center Grant Program for Promotion of Cultural Collaboration, MRA Foundation, Tanaka UK Japan Educational Foundation

In this episode, medical anthropologist and practitioner of Mental Health and Psychosocial Services (MHPSS) Ananda Galappatti shares his experiences of growing a network of MHPSS practitioners in response to the needs of communities traumatized by war, disaster, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He will describe developments in Sri Lanka following the civil war and the 2004 tsunami. What lessons are most important for Asia’s conflict-torn areas and disaster-prone zones? How can affected communities recover using mental health and psychosocial support services? The COVID surge and lockdowns since 2020 have shown that the most vulnerable were women and children subject to domestic violence during home quarantines, migrant workers rendered jobless, and students shifting to online learning, who were at greater risk of cyber violence. How is the MHPSS, co-founded and co-directed by Ananda Galappatti, providing needed support?

Ananda Galappatti

Ananda Galappatti returned to a war-torn Sri Lanka in 1996. He assisted Dr. Gameela Samarasinghe in a psychosocial epidemiological survey of Sri Lanka’s conflict zones, which revealed that 40% to 65% of those in affected areas displayed signs of post-traumatic stress linked to war and violence. Galappatti and Samarasinghe formed the War Trauma & Psychosocial Support Program (PSP) to help those burdened by psychosocial consequences of trauma. Galappatti co-founded The Mangrove, a network of organizations and individuals dedicated to coordinating psychosocial aspects of the relief effort in Batticalao, one of the hardest hit districts by the 2004 tsunami and already traumatized by years of war.

Read more about Ananda Galappatti.

Susan Bautista-Afan

As president of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation, Susan Bautista-Afan is responsible for leading and championing the Award, Asia’s premier prize and highest honor. She is in charge of overall strategic leadership in the areas of operations, administration, sustainability, governance, and donor relations to achieve the organization’s vision and mission. After 30+ years of working in the United States for a Fortune 500 Global Staffing Firm, Robert Half International, Susan transitioned back to the Philippines in 2014 and has since worked in the nonprofit sector. She previously served as the managing director of ABS-CBN Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation (ALKFI), the socio-civic arm of ABS-CBN Broadcasting Network, where, together with the chairman and the board of trustees, she helped set policies, strategize on goals, fundraise, and manage operations to make sure it is aligned with the advocacies of the Foundation that center on children, the environment and disaster relief, and rehabilitation. Susan graduated from Ateneo de Manila University with a degree in communications in 1980

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