From Bombs to Bread | Aala El-Khani | TEDxManchester

Good Morning

Worldwide, over 1.5 Billion People experience some conflict

In response, people are forced to flee their country.

leaving over 15 million refugees.

children without a doubt are

the most innocent and vulnerable victims

but not just from the obvious physical dangers,

but from, the often, unspoken affects that wars have on their families.

The experiences of war leave children at real high risk

for the development of emotional and behavioural problems.

children as we can only imagine,

will feel worried, threaten and at risk.

but there is good news.

The Quality of care that children recieve

in their families, can have a more significant

effects on their well-being, than from

the actual experiences of war that they have been exposed to.

So actually, children can be protected

by warm, secure parenting.

during and after conflict.

In 2011 I was a first year PHD Student

in the University Of Manchester

School Of Physiological Sciences.

Like many of you here, I watched the crisis in Syria

unfold in front of me on the Tv.

My family are originally from Syria, and very early on

I lost several family members in really horrifying ways.

I sit and I gathered with my family to watch the Tv.

So we have all seen those scenes,

barns destroying, buildings, chaos, destruction.

and people screaming and running.

it was always the people screaming and running

that really got me the most.

Specially those terrified looking children.

I was a mother to two young, typically inquisitive children.

They were five and six then.

At an age when they typically ask lots and lots of questions

and expect real convincing answers.

So I began to wonder what it might be like

to parent my children in a war-zone and a refugee camp.

Would my children change?

Would my daughter's bright happy eyes lose their shine?

would my sons' really relax care-free nature

become fearful and withdrawn?

How would I cope?

Would I change?

As psychologists and parent's trainers

we know that arming parents

with skills and caring for their children

can have a huge effect on their well-being.

We call this Parents Training.

The questions I had was

Could Parent Training programs be useful for families

while they're still in war-zones or refugee camps?

Could we reach them with advise or training

that would help them through the struggles?

So, I approached my PHD supervisor,

professor Rachel Calam,

with my idea of using my academic skills

to make some changes in the real world.

I wasn't quite sure, exactly, what I wanted to do.

She listened carefully and patiently,

And to my joy, she said:

"If that is what you want to do,

and it means so much to you, Let's do it.

Let's find ways to see if parent programs can be useful

for families in this contexts."

So for the past five years myself and my colleagues,

professor Calam and Dr. Kim Cartwright

have been working on ways to support families

that have experienced war and displacement.

Now, to know how to help families that have been

through conflict, support their children,

the first step must obviously be

to ask them what are they struggling with. Right?

I mean, it seems obvious,

but often those are the most vulnerable

that we are trying to support that we actually don't ask.

How many times have we just assumed

we know exactly the right thing that is gonna help

someone or something without actually asking

them first.