Fire survivor writes book to help children cope with disasters

“If I need to grow, it’s good to know – because every story counts” by Bobbie Merica. (Article)

Bobbie Merica, a Paradise resident and Camp Fire survivor, is a preparedness trainer. During various natural and man-made disasters, first responders encounter people with serious injuries and local leaders are tasked with helping a community during and after a disaster.

To make the training as realistic as possible, Merica’s company MoulageConcepts.com uses three-dimensional simulated injuries (“moulage” is French for “to cast a mold”) that can be applied to simulation participants like makeup. The gruesome results are even more heartbreaking when used on children, but that’s often the reality on the ground.

In a world full of shootings, devastating fires, terrifying evacuations and abusive situations, traumatized children need a way to process what is happening to them. A community can help by teaching children how to respond creatively and resiliently.

To that end, Merica has developed a coloring book featuring a cartoon character named “Aoifa” (pronounced EE-FA), “a striking, fair-haired warrior from Irish lore./ She is strong and gentle, thoughtful and brave,/ Standing guard with a brave roar.” The book is “a safe place to discuss difficult things.”

If I Need to Grow, It’s Good to Know—Because Every Story Counts ($16.95 in paperback, independently published, available through Aoifa.org) features illustrations by Daniel J. Seward. The opening pages introduce the characters: Ottava the octopus, Aria the fox, DaCoda the wolf pup, and of course, Aoifa, whose calming presence graces every page.

Aoifa guides children through difficult landscapes, but there is always hope, as this thought-provoking message for readers shows: “When the road gets rocky, we must fight, / to find our way back. / The road may be bumpy and we may feel alone, / but that is rarely true.”

There are pages where kids can write their responses to prompts, like this one: “A little pain for future gain is necessary growth when we need it most… / But some injuries must be treated to ensure our health and long-term well-being.” Then there’s ROAR (“respond appropriately; seek out-notify others!; activate emergency notification system; reassess and respond”).

Aoifa is compassionate, brave and hopeful and helps create this “safe place”.

Dan Barnett teaches philosophy at Butte College. Send critique requests to [email protected]. Columns archived at https://barnetto.substack.com