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Clay Collins: Welcome to Rethinking the News, from 海角大神. I鈥檓 Clay Collins, one of its editors. Today we offer the first episode of People Making a Difference, an audio extension of the Monitor鈥檚 long-running听franchise about individuals and organizations working to advance progress. You鈥檒l hear the backstories of some of the PMADs, as we call them, who you may have read about in the Monitor. And you鈥檒l meet some new difference-makers. These episodes are hosted by Dave Scott, the Monitor鈥檚 audience engagement editor.听

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Dave Scott: That鈥檚 Theresa Betancourt, the director of the Research Program on Children and Adversity at Boston College. For the past 20 years, she鈥檚 been studying former child soldiers, a generation [of individuals] who were victims or witnesses of violence in the war zones of Sierra Leone, Uganda, Rwanda, and Chechnya. Some of those survivors fell into chronic depression and unemployment. Others became doctors, entrepreneurs, and humanitarian workers. She鈥檚 been researching why some children flourish after war and how to facilitate that recovery.

This is 鈥淧eople Making a Difference,鈥� a podcast about people who are, step-by-step, making a better world.

Welcome, Dr. Betancourt.

Dave Scott:听So take us back to the beginning, if you would. Tell us about your original research of trauma and resilience.

Dave Scott: Dr. Betancourt acknowledges that after a war, [there are] a lot of mental health issues relating to the violence, and often that鈥檚 what gets the immediate attention. But that focus, she says, is too narrow. And often temporary. Her research suggests that a more holistic approach, what she calls the social ecology of support, can change the arc of many young lives.

Dave Scott: So let鈥檚 bring it back down to maybe specific examples. Can you talk about a child or children, maybe in Sierra Leone, where you鈥檝e seen a change by [way of] these interventions, by bringing support to bear?

Dave Scott: That鈥檚 tragic and probably all too common after some wars. What鈥檚 the flip side of that portrait?

Dave Scott:听As I mentioned, Dr. Betancourt was taking her research findings and applying them to help others. She started an education study, working with local and international groups in Sierra Leone to help poor young people get into school and stay in school. One effort, called the Youth Readiness Intervention program, helped some 436 young people develop goals, manage their emotions, and foster relationships.

Dave Scott:听The success of that education program, Dr. Betancourt told me, led to a larger Youth Readiness Intervention program in Sierra Leone for more than a 1,000 young people, ages 15 to 25, to help them get jobs or start small businesses.

Dave Scott:听That鈥檚 great. Can you take me down to the ground level a little bit more on the intervention. So what does that mean? If I鈥檓 a kid that is in a program that鈥檚 sponsored by the government, or the World Bank, to give me some training in how to become a welder (or a carpenter or something), do I get an hour of training once a week? And what [does] that training look like? Is that just anger management? Can you get it down to that level, a little bit?

Dave Scott:听I asked Dr. Betancourt to give us an example of how those classes and training programs produce practical results for the young adults.

Dave Scott:听That鈥檚 awesome. So can you talk a little bit about your work with refugees? Is [your work] similar with [the] refugees in the U.S.?

Dave Scott:听I wanted to note here that her refugee work in New England is taking on new relevance. Dr. Betancourt told me that she鈥檚 been talking to U.S. officials about the recent surge in Afghan refugees, and what lessons might be applied to their resettlement in the U. S. Now, let鈥檚 get back to our conversation.

Dave Scott:听As I listened to how you do this, it strikes me that family and community are pretty key to nurturing resilience. And forgive me if I鈥檓 going in a direction that sounds like it鈥檚 not very academic, but to me, that sounds like an expression of a kind of love. The Greeks had many different names for love and one of the terms was 鈥渟torge,鈥� which is 鈥渇amily love鈥� 鈥� family empathy, and compassion. It sounds like part of what you鈥檙e doing is creating support systems that are essentially loving: Bringing love into these people鈥檚 lives 鈥� or these children鈥檚 lives or these refugees lives 鈥� in more systematic ways. Is that accurate? How would you describe it?

Dave Scott:听I鈥檝e heard you speak about the need for education as almost 鈥� that鈥檚 the hope for the future. You need a sense of hope and that sense of hope is manifested either through education or a path to employment. Can you talk a little bit about that?

Dave Scott:听So there are many in academia that don鈥檛 take their work to the next level, yet you have. Can you tell me what motivates you? What makes you want to scale up your work 鈥� not just to study trauma and resilience, but to find ways to heal lives?

Dave Scott:听There鈥檚 a lot of your research 鈥� and other research and history 鈥� that suggests that humans are remarkably resilient in the face of adversity. Do you agree? If so, why?

Dave Scott:听I like to give a homework assignment to our podcast listeners. What steps could they take to help themselves or others dealing with adversity?

Dave Scott: What I find compelling about Dr. Betancourt鈥檚 work is how she challenges the assumption that when children face violence or trauma or war, it doesn鈥檛 mean they鈥檒l automatically become broken adults. Remember the 鈥淔鈥� in her S.A.F.E. formula? Healing comes when family, and/or members of the community, give love and support to a child or teenager. And the 鈥淓鈥� in her S.A.F.E formula is for education and employment. Those are the ingredients of hope.听

Those children from Afghanistan, Africa, or the house next door, don鈥檛 have to make their way in the world alone. She has shown how our support can make a huge difference in their lives.

This week鈥檚 challenge? Dr. Betancourt gave us one: Help Afghan refugees fleeing the Taliban. Your house of worship may already be doing work with refugees. If not, here are three websites that may help you connect with that effort in the United States.

The International Rescue Committee:听www.rescue.org.听

No One Left Behind:听.听

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services:听.

Tell me how it goes. Call me at (617) 450-2410. And leave me a voice message about your experience helping Afghan refugees. That鈥檚 (617) 450-2410.听

Thanks for listening to 鈥淧eople Making a Difference,鈥� a podcast about people who are, step-by-step, making the world a better place.

Produced by 海角大神, copyright 2021.听

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