New safe centers for children were opened in three cities of the Dnipropetrovsk region. They provide free social and psychological services to support both children and their parents, including IDPs.
The coordinator of the project "Support service for children in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Novomoskovsk, Dnipro" Mykyta Semenov, facilitator of socio-emotional education for children Hanna Volodina and specialist in the development of Global Communities partnership Aryna Hrytsenko-Kharkovska told Open about this.
Public organization "MARTIN-club", under the project "Support service for children in Kryvyi Rih, Novomoskovsk, Dnipro", created 2 safe spaces and 1 mobile team for classes with children of different ages in Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Novomoskovsk. "MARTIN-club" implements this activity in partnership with Global Communities within the framework of the CLEAR program, which is financed by the Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development.
"MARTIN-club" is a public organization with 25 years of experience in the mission "Warmth and protection for children in need". Since 2014, he has specialized in helping war victims. During the full-scale invasion, thousands of children lost their parents, killed at the front or under shelling. They hear air raid sirens every day, learn about deaths and injuries in the families of friends and relatives, and come under fire themselves. Millions of children have lost their homes and their familiar environment. Children learn in new conditions, have to adapt, are forced to live with strangers in a crowd, without having their own space. Children and adolescents from the frontline and de-occupied territories do not have the opportunity to see their friends, and for children communication with peers is not a desirable, but a necessary condition for development and socialization. In a traumatized environment, children cannot develop in accordance with their age, and adults are often unable to give children the much-needed stability and support. Therefore, our goal is to help in these situations in every possible way. Returning a child's childhood is the task of the MARTIN-club NGO and the project "Children's support service in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Novomoskovsk, Dnipro" is one of the powerful tools for its solution, says Nikita Semenov.
On the basis of newly created safe spaces, children will be able to spend time in an atmosphere of care and attention to their needs. Art therapy classes, master classes, social-emotional training, psychological and legal consultations, individual and group classes with psychologists will be held for them. Support is also provided for family members, parents or guardians. All services are provided free of charge. And the schedules for visiting the spaces are made so that it does not interfere with learning at school.
"Every child is under stress now. And she often does not understand what it is at all, what to do with it and who can turn to for help. Our method of social-emotional learning helps to form three skills in a child. The first is self-awareness, when an understanding of emotions and the state experienced appears. The second is when the child learns to empathize. The third is when she becomes involved and can help herself by adjusting her stress level and even help others. All these skills will be developed through dialogue methods, interesting stories, all kinds of games, art therapy exercises and much more. We focus our work on an individual approach to the child, and our teacher acts as a facilitator who gently guides the process, does not pressure, but goes along with the children along this path. It's definitely not like at school," says Hanna Volodina.
The project "Children's Support Service of the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Novomoskovsk, Dnipro" envisages the involvement, first of all, of children from the families of IDPs, local residents who were evacuated and returned. At the same time, any child who needs it can get help in these spaces. They employ trainers, psychologists, art therapists, social educators, and lawyers. There is an escort of social workers. In general, the organizers of the project plan to help about 2,000 people by the end of the year.
The uniqueness of the project is the created mobile team in the Novomoskovsk community. It is actually on wheels, and the form of its operation is somewhat different from the spaces in Dnipro and Kryvyi Rih. The main emphasis is on art therapy with elements of social-emotional training.
"I represent the international organization Global Communities, which has been working in Ukraine since 2016. For 8 years, we have been implementing the USAID DOBRE program, which provides support to communities in the process of decentralization of power. And with the start of a full-scale invasion, implementation began from the CLEAR program with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development's Bureau of Humanitarian Assistance (USAID's BHA). The overall objective of the program is to meet the immediate needs of people affected by the war, while supporting local communities in their own response. We are glad to support our partners in the implementation of such important initiatives and contribute to the development of their organizational capacity", says Aryna Hrytsenko-Kharkovska.
Space for children in Dnipro
Railway station Livoberezhny-3, str. Hetmanska 7, "Olimpiyskiy" housing complex. T: (093) 281 76 83.
Space for children in the Kryvyi Rih
32A Metalurgiv Ave., (former Rustavelli restaurant). T: (067) 343 14 14.
Mobile team in Novomoskovsk
you can contact by phone: (067) 343 18 18.
The material is taken from the website https://opentv.media
The author is Tetyana Kiryanova
