By Project REBUILD’s Project Coordinator and Asst Project Coordinator, Ivan Woo and Elizabeth Yeo.

 On October 22, 2011, Project REBUILD, also known as the Singapore Community Bereavement Project, organised two educational forums on grief and bereavement for professionals and the general public. The forums, held at the KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, addressed two areas that are considered challenging in the field of palliative care: 1) Grief and Bereavement Among Children and Adolescents and 2) Child Loss. The professional forum, “How Do We Care for Children and Teenagers in Grief and Bereavement?” received 130 professionals, while the public forum, “Will I Ever Get Over My Child’s Death?” had 70 attendees from the general public.

In this year’s educational forums, Project REBUILD has the honour of having Dr. Alicia Pon as one of the invited speakers. Dr. Pon is an overseas expert in grief and bereavement support for children and adolescents from Hong Kong. She serves as an Honorary Lecturer and Research Fellow with the University of Hong Kong and is also a Clinical Therapist in private practice. Joining her were some of our local experts who specialise in supporting children and adolescents or journeying with individuals who have experienced the loss of a child. At the professional forum, the local experts include Mrs Saradha Ramachandran, Senior Counsellor, Help Every Lone Parent (HELP) Family Service Centre, and Dr. Chong Poh Heng, Deputy Medical Director and Consultant Palliative Care Physician, HCA Hospice Care. At the public forum, we have Ms Carolyn Ng, Senior Counsellor, Children’s Cancer Foundation, and Ms Helen Ko, Executive Director, Beyond Age as the local speakers.

 During the professional forum, the speakers reminded the audience that grief touches children in manners similar to adults. However, children may not have the words to describe their emotions and would tend to express their grief through non-verbal means. It was also highlighted that children, given their short attention spans, tend to grieve in episodes and it is normal for them to “take a break” from grieving through play. Perhaps the greatest take-home message for the professionals is that children are very resilient, and adults, with a desire to protect the child, often overlook the importance of empowering the child to take on an active role in the healing process.

 In the public forum, the speakers recognised that child loss, being untimely, is often difficult and can produce the most heart-wrenching pain and intense grief known to mankind among the bereaved who have suffered such a loss. To manage such a loss, the audience was given insights to possible ways to support both younger and older adults who have experienced the loss of a child. Verbal feedback received from the audience after the forum suggests that they are glad that Project REBUILD has organised a forum that addresses an important and difficult, but conventionally neglected area in grief and bereavement work.

 Feedback given by the audience was positive and encouraging. Over 90% of the professionals agreed that the professional forum has provided them with useful knowledge to care for children and teenagers in grief and bereavement and over 80% of this group of individuals have expressed increased confidence in caring for children and teenagers in grief and bereavement. Among members of the general public who have attended the public forum, more than 90% agreed that the forum 1) provided them with ideas on how to support someone who has lost a child and 2) increased their confidence in supporting survivors of child loss.

 The two forums are part of the education initiatives of Project REBUILD, a collaborative effort between Assisi Hospice and the Lien Centre for Palliative Care, started in 2009. It has as its vision, to build a community safety net for all bereaved individuals in Singapore, and is a first attempt to bring together education, clinical services and research for bereavement care in Singapore.