Supporting Activities for Refugee Children in Lebanon
This news is also available in Arabic.
Refugee families in Lebanon are suffering today, as all Lebanese citizens, from severe economic, social, health and security crises that are escalating daily. As for the children of these families, they became victims of the deteriorating living conditions in the country. Their childhood has been stolen and even their right to go to school, but what about their mental health?
In fact, these children live in intense despair and anxiety that affected their psychological state and mental health.
Since its establishment, the Middle East Council of Churches is keen to support refugees and preserve their dignity, especially as they are one of society's most vulnerable groups.
In this context, the Service and Relief Department - Diakonia, Beirut office, organized a play-based Trauma Resiliency program for Iraqi and Syrian refugee children entitled Strong Kids/ Strong Emotions (SKSE), aiming at supporting them and helping them develop their abilities, especially in overcoming the difficulties around them.
The program teaches the six core skills of the Community Resiliency Model (CRM): Tracking, Resourcing, Grounding, Help-Now, Gesturing, and Shift-and-Stay. Thus, the children participated in activities and games such as crafts, story-telling and puppetry in order to master these essential skills in a caring and supportive environment.
Noting that this support program was implemented in partnership with the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) - PCUSA, at Our Lady Dispensary, affiliated to MECC and located in Sabtiyeh – Lebanon.
