Can the Appreciative approach apply in times of trauma?

Last year I made contact with some colleagues around the world. We had not been in contact for some time and I asked them some appreciatively framed questions as a way of helping us catch up. One of them is based in Pakistan and the earthquake there featured in the reply as did news of their family. We discussed what happens to the appreciative approach in times of trauma like an earthquake. This is someone driectly involved through there work in helping. Here is the reply to my question 'what was the highlight of last year. 'Responding to the disastrous earthquake, impact was so devastating that we are still struggling to get people recover from this huge shock. The loss of lives, livelihoods and loss of or damage to homes and assets as well as the loss of employment, coupled with the shock and fear caused by the earthquake, resulted in a state of absolute chaos and trauma in the affected areas.' The thing that gives me a lot of satisfaction was that although these communities were extremely traumatized in the initial stages, they demonstrated a strong sense of independence, resilience and cohesion in recovering from this disaster. To me, this capacity of communities represents one of the most important assets that they ever had. This is very encouraging and I am very happy to see these signs of life, hope and continuous engagement.' So what can we learn from this situation for our own lives and the lives of our communities? Here is my colleague: 'I've learnt being patient, hopeful, and never letting go the struggle to improve even when you've lost everything you had.' 'I value my contribution of working along side these people for their recovery. I really felt that I am making a meaningful contribution which is very visible and noticeable. Job is one thing and satisfaction is another. I put extra effort than what is required from me, to satisfy my notion of helping those who are in desperate need. Never in my professional life, I was this much satisfied and happy with my work and my achievements.' Looking to the future, I asked my friend what he wished were for the future? 'I am fully charged with this experience and I've learnt how one can get satisfaction from the job/work. I will continue to serve the needy and impoverished with more zeal and enthusiasm in the times ahead. My contributions have been fully acknowledged by my organization and people around me, which is extremely encouraging for me.' Some questions for us to ponder in the communities where we work and where we live (or as we would say in Scotland ' where we stay') Where do you see signs of independence resilience and cohesion? Where do you see signs of life, hope and continuous engagement? When have we or the people who work with and for us put extra effort in? Were those efforts appreciated and acknowledged? I would be interested to hear your replies.