The Filipino family has been extremely challenged during this COVID pandemic. Almost overnight, lives changed. Businesses closed down, some permanently. Many breadwinners lost their jobs or had to take a cut in pay. Children stopped schooling. And worse of all, many had to experience the loss of loved ones to the virus. It also did not help that even before the pandemic hit us, Taal Volcano erupted, causing suffering and affecting the lives of those in the surrounding areas.
According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), 73.5% of Filipino households had at least one member of the family experience job loss or workload reduction. This resulted in financial instability, with 85% of households experiencing financial difficulty during the pandemic.
There is one effect that continues to remain underestimated – the impact on mental health. A study, “Psychological impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines (Tee, 2020)” showed that a significant percentage, approximately 13% to almost 17% of respondents, have rated the psychological impact of the pandemic, its effects on depressive symptoms, and anxiety levels from moderate to severe. Meanwhile, the National Center for Mental Health (NCMH) noted a significant increase in monthly calls from 80 pre-lockdown to nearly 400 during the quarantine.
Fathers and mothers’ mental health are affected by the financial impact on their ability to provide for their children. Young people who have lost jobs or are afraid of losing them also suffer depression or anxiety. Even the children, who have had to stay home for months, are affected. We know that at their age, they need to be social, and being cooped up at home has created mental stress. The need for online learning has made further demands on the finances and time of parents, who have to provide internet connection and supervise their children; it has also added stress to the students themselves who now have to find ways to cope with the demands of online schooling.
Unilab Foundation, Inc., through its HeadsUp PH program, with the support of the Philippine Psychiatric Association, Psychological Association of the Philippines, Philippine Guidance and Counseling Association, and Philippine Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, leads in responding to a great need to address family wellbeing that cuts across social classes through the Bayanihan for WellBeing (BWB) Initiative. The vision of the BWB Initiative is for mental health and family wellbeing to be holistic, inclusive, and empowering, targeting particularly families in the Pantawid ng Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) to join the discussion.
This is a FREE, ONLINE CONFERENCE covering 2 days, February 12-13, 2021. Medical and health professionals and development workers, educators, parents, and the youth are invited to join.
To kick off the conference, a panel discussion on the challenges and strengths of the Filipino family during the pandemic will take place on February 12 at 9 AM. The second session will take place on February 13 at 9 AM and will tackle how to provide a more active role in addressing family wellbeing through a panel discussion as well as activity-based target group sessions. Lastly, the third session will be at 4 PM, also on February 13, featuring a discussion of different types of Filipino families and their stories from young couples and single parents to OFWs.
Here is a more detailed program of activities.
To join the event, you can register at bit.ly/FFWC2021RegForm and watch the livestream at the Bayanihan for WellBeing Facebook page.
You can also support the event by donating a Bayanihan for WellBeing Resiliency Play Bag, which is composed of: (1) Toys like sipa and kickball, which are intended to help children release tension; (2) Cape and mask which they could design, allowing them to identify their strengths and make them feel like superheroes; and (3) Writing and coloring sheets to encourage their creativity and help them express their emotions.
For as little as Php 250 / USD 5.00, you can help raise a resilient child by providing them with materials to help them express themselves and develop coping strategies.
Please help reach as many families as possible by sharing this post on your social media accounts. Together, let us try to help ALL Filipino families regain our wellbeing.