Handbook of Resilience in Children of War (PDF)

Chandi Fernando is a Clinical and School Psychologist. She has experience working in mental health agencies and schools in Toronto and Northern Ontario, and most recently as an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She is actively involved in international research, with a focus on, risk and resilience in children and communities. Her outreach work and research involves working with orphan and refugee torture and trauma victims of war in Sri Lanka.

Michel Ferrari is a Professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto. His area of interest concerns psychological well-being and identity development. He has conducted international research on how individuals understand themselves within the context of their lives and cultures and is currently leading an international study of personal wisdom in China, India, India Serbia, Ukraine, the USA and Canada.  Other work has explored related themes such as self-compassion, and identity development in children with special needs, in particular those with Asperger's Syndrome.  He is editor and co-editor of several books, the most recent being, The Scientific Study of Personal Wisdom (Ferrari & Weststrate, 2013, Springer).

"My friend Emmanuel Jal says he believes he has survived for a reason – to tell his story, to touch lives. It is remarkable how children, the most vulnerable in conflict, are able to transcend the worst evils this world has to offer. The authors of this book recount positive stories of struggles for survival and the remarkable journeys of young people who refused to let their adverse circumstances dictate their future possibilities. This handbook stresses the importance of learning from the past, avoiding cookie-cutter solutions, and, above all, a multidisciplinary approach to caring for our young. It truly takes a village…"

LGen Roméo Dallaire (Ret)
Founder of the Roméo Dallaire Child Soldiers Initiative

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“Reading Chandi Fernando and Michel Ferrari’s inspiring collection of papers from around the world, it’s clear that there are specific protective processes that help children who are exposed to political violence build and sustain resilience. This is a timely work that sits on the crest of emerging thinking in the field of resilience research. No longer can we explain resilience as something inside a child. It is, as shown in the many studies that are discussed with some of the most disadvantaged children in the world, something we create by making children’s social ecologies safer and more nurturing. This book will be of interest not just to those working with children affected by war, but anyone who works with traumatised young people, whether because of gangs or domestic violence. This volume is one of the first of its kind to show through research and its application to practice that we can help children be more resilient with the right commitments from their families, communities, and most importantly, the policy makers who fund the programs children need.”

Michael Ungar, PhD
Co-Director, Resilience Research Centre
Editor, The Social Ecology of Resilience: A Handbook of Theory and Practice