Psychosocial Support for Children
Psychosocial support (PSS) is a continuum of love, care and protection that is an essential component of nurturing care. PSS lays strong foundations for a child’s mental health, emotional and spiritual wellbeing as well as their social and cultural connectedness. The most effective and sustainable PSS for young children is provided through every day systems of nurturing and loving care and protection from their families, communities and a range of local services. Psychosocial needs are diverse, requiring coordinated response from health, social, education and other services. Good practice in PSS is gender sensitive and draws on the strengths of the child, family, community to build their resilience which leads to thriving.
Our children’s resilience programme “Home based play and learning” recognizes that children’s wellbeing is influenced by their interaction with their parents and caregivers, their peers and with others in their community environment. The programme therefore covers all these areas of children’s lives to help improve their wellbeing and their resilience.
This is done through children’s Play and Music that focus on supporting the children’s inner strengths and their social interactions with others. It also involves meetings with parents and caregivers, promoting their understanding of the challenges their children are facing, and providing them with skills to support their children. As a whole, it involves working with the entire community to identify ways to improve the environment the children live in, and especially to improve child protection systems
Strengthening Child participation and Resilience.
There are many different types and ways of providing psychosocial support to children, but at Similar Ground we provide recreational activities to children from 8-17.
What we Do?
Our psychosocial support interventions are designed to enable children and youth to develop their resilience and innate strengths. Participants in our life-skills interventions and structured recreational activities develop increased self-confidence and trust in others.
Art Activities
At Similar Ground, Art means “communication” with the external world and give expression to thoughts and feelings. Child come together each week to learn and draw and have fun through this they sharing their feels and build confidence.
Drama and Puppet Performances
Our Drama performance is offered to children from 5 to 17 i to help children develop their abilities to cooperate, to express themselves freely and to build their confidence. It also helps children work through their experiences and make sense of what is happening to them. While Younger children (up to 9 years old) are particularly participating in the puppet performances.
Storytelling
Both listening and telling stories can be useful in helping children to listen to other people, learn to show empathy, and respect. Stories can be used to explore moral values and ways of dealing with problems. Our story sessions are to enable children to express ideas freely. It is not necessarily about ‘them’ but the characters they have created, although children may strongly identify with the characters and their stories. We provide Storytelling in orally or in writing and poems.
Playing and Games
Our home-based play and learning provide children with structured and Unstructured games and play that improve children’s ability to express themselves. More the structured games, that has set of rules, can help demonstrate and improve values such as sharing and cooperation, including controlling impulses.
Sports
In the vibrant community of Bidibidi, our sports programs serve as a dynamic channel for the boundless energy of refugee children. More than just a recreational outlet, these programs play a transformative role by promoting physical and mental well-being, instilling teamwork and social skills, teaching conflict resolution and discipline, integrating education and leadership components, providing a constructive emotional outlet, fostering cultural exchange and inclusivity, and building confidence and self-esteem. In the face of the challenges in Bidibidi, our goal is to not only offer a platform for play but to empower children with the skills and resilience needed to navigate their circumstances and contribute positively to their community.
Song, Music and Dance
Just like art and storytelling, Our music for social change provide a platform for children to express themselves. connect children to their cultural heritage, learn how to play a musical instrument, encouraged to make their own musical instruments among others.
