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Good Morning

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Worldwide, over 1.5 Billion People experience some conflict

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In response, people are forced to flee their country.

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leaving over 15 million refugees.

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children without a doubt are

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the most innocent and vulnerable victims

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but not just from the obvious physical dangers,

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

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The experiences of war leave children at real high risk

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for the development of emotional and behavioural problems.

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children as we can only imagine,

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will feel worried, threaten and at risk.

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but there is good news.

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The Quality of care that children recieve

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in their families, can have a more significant

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effects on their well-being, than from

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

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So actually, children can be protected

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by warm, secure parenting.

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during and after conflict.

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In 2011 I was a first year PHD Student

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in the University Of Manchester

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School Of Physiological Sciences.

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

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unfold in front of me on the Tv.

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My family are originally from Syria, and very early on

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I lost several family members in really horrifying ways.

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

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So we have all seen those scenes,

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barns destroying, buildings, chaos, destruction.

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and people screaming and running.

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it was always the people screaming and running

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that really got me the most.

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Specially those terrified looking children.

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

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They were five and six then.

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

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and expect real convincing answers.

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So I began to wonder what it might be like

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

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Would my children change?

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

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would my sons' really relax care-free nature

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become fearful and withdrawn?

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How would I cope?

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Would I change?

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As psychologists and parent's trainers

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we know that arming parents

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with skills and caring for their children

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can have a huge effect on their well-being.

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We call this Parents Training.

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The questions I had was

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Could Parent Training programs be useful for families

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

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Could we reach them with advise or training

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that would help them through the struggles?

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So, I approached my PHD supervisor,

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professor Rachel Calam,

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with my idea of using my academic skills

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to make some changes in the real world.

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

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She listened carefully and patiently,

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And to my joy, she said:

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"If that is what you want to do,

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

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

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for families in this contexts."

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So for the past five years myself and my colleagues,

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professor Calam and Dr. Kim Cartwright

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have been working on ways to support families

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that have experienced war and displacement.

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Now, to know how to help families that have been

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through conflict, support their children,

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the first step must obviously be

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to ask them what are they struggling with. Right?

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I mean, it seems obvious,

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but often those are the most vulnerable

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

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How many times have we just assumed

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we know exactly the right thing that is gonna help

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someone or something without actually asking

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them first.