Very Sad, Handled well and Very Appropriate

The Colorado Daily reported in August about the death of a woman in Nepal. She was part of a study-abroad program called Passage Project. The article CU student’s death in Nepal was first fatality for program describes what happened and how the program responded to the death. It is a very good response for what is a very sad situation.

As in most cases, a government needs to be notified (whether local or county here in the states or a consulate when abroad) and the government will normally notify the family. In this case the young woman was swimming in Nepal, attempting to rescue a friend when she drowned.

The program then dealt with the family when they arrived in Nepal. They helped arrange meetings with people who knew the young woman in Nepal. Remember an issue here, closure is critical in the US and family members want to know what happened and most times see where it happened.

Too often when someone dies the natural response is to run and hide. Dealing with family members who have lost a loved one is perceived as bad, stressful and awful. It is, but it can also be very helpful for you and the program. You can gain personal value from the experience and you can put behind you some of the problems.

More importantly you have helping the family of a client and possibly a friend. You have stepped up to the responsibilities that we as humans for centuries have had to each other. It has only been the last 40 years, litigation, lawyers and insurance companies that have attempted to train us to ignore those responsibilities in an attempt to save someone money.

Not a long article but from how it reads a great way to deal with a fatality.