The Contemplative-Based Resilience Project for Humanitarian Aid Workers

The mission of the CBR Project is to improve the lives of millions of disaster-affected people around the world by increasing the resilience and effectiveness of the humanitarian aid workers who serve them. Alongside advocacy and creating peer support networks for aid workers – as well as human rights defenders and journalists – the CBR Project principally provides training programs teaching practical stress management tools, helping aid workers to build their personal resilience, rekindle passion for their work and, crucially, to better understand the effects on their bodies and minds of working in conflict zones and in the aftermath of natural disasters. The CBR Project training curriculum was designed by psychologist experts in trauma, psychologists from Doctors Without Borders with experience of delivering humanitarian aid, and world-renowned teachers of mindfulness and meditation, including New York Times bestselling author Sharon Salzberg. We support humanitarian professionals to reduce the stigma of burnout through peer support; to develop practical tools for stress management including contemplative-based practices of mind, breath, and body; and to maintain strength, wellbeing, and a sense of purpose despite the stress of working in the most challenging of disaster situations.