Olive Branch International

Mongolian Soldier (left) and Counselor (right)

Victor Salazar, Executive Director, Olive Branch International (OBI) and Dick Stiliha, Director, OBI Education Programs and one of the world’s foremost experts in suicide prevention and counseling skills, recently returned from a series of meetings in East Asia, with a particular interest in Mongolia. A major consequence of these meetings is that OBI is poised to extend the reach of its services to that area of the world.

OBI continues to extend its reach in supporting military members and their families worldwide. In the latest incidence of our ongoing growth, in April-May 2008, Victor Salazar, Executive Director, Olive Branch International (OBI) and Dick Stiliha, Director, OBI Education Programs responded to an invitation from Mongolian leaders to offer Lay Counselor Training in Ulan Bator, the capital of Mongolia.

Mongolia Volunteer Lay Counselors

Thirty Mongolian lay counselors attended Dick Stiliha’s training, simultaneously captured in DVD-format so that attendees could later reinforce their learning. While basic counseling skills were presented in lecture format (translators assisted in bridging the potential language-gap), later practical exercises provided attendees the opportunity for substantive feedback on their progress in developing one-on-one counseling skills.

Mongolia

While in Ulan Bator, Victor Salazar met with the Deputy Director and two senior staff members of the Institute of Strategic Studies (ISS), a government “think-tank” affiliated with the Mongolian National Security Council. The session lasted much longer than anticipated because of the ISS’ abundant interest in how OBI can serve their nation as a true non-government organization (NGO), wholly funded by private donations and staffed by volunteers.

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