In November 2022, SolidarityNow united its forces with UTech Lab of the Eugenides Foundation to implement an innovative education and empowerment program for displaced children from Ukraine. The program was implemented with funding from the U.S. Embassy in Athens.
The aim of the program was to provide psychological support and organize appropriate educational activities and games to help heal a traumatic experience and strengthen resilience.
As a result of the program, a total of 69 children and 22 adults participated in STEM workshops (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) and other educational activities, while at the same time they were supported by an experienced psychologist at the Athens Solidarity Center of SolidarityNow.
More specifically, in “Healing Play – Healing Trauma through Play” participated:
- 57 children in 13 educational programs in 6 different STEM subjects
- 25 children in group psychological sessions
- 20 adults in individual or group sessions on parental support, while in total
- 211 educational and psychological sessions were implemented.
“I was thrilled with all the activities, especially those related to technology and mathematics! 3d printing gave me a lot of ideas! It’s cool to print whatever you want”, said Kirillos, 14, after completing another course, while 16-year-old Oleg said: “Taking part in these lessons was the best experience for me! It was like finding my school again, I made friends, we had fun in and out of class. I love technology and mathematics and I learned a lot in these courses, and I see that I can study in this subject!”
The next step
With the completion of the “Healing Play” program, SolidarityNow continues its collaboration with Ukrainian communities and civil society organizations, aiming to provide continuous support and empowerment of children and adults who are dealing with trauma that suddenly changed the course of their lives.