By Mike Lipari | Project Leader
Wings of Hope (BIH) has a long history of helping children and adults with mental health support. The initiative came in 1995 when the consequences of war on mental health could no longer be denied. Young people were disproportionately affected by the war - their childhoods were disrupted by a constant threat of death and access to education was severely harmed, leaving children without stability in their everyday life. These experiences provided Bosnians with unique perspectives and abilities to empathize with victims of the war in Ukraine.
During 2023, Foundation Wings of Hope has continued activities and services in the field of psychotherapy and counseling, encompassed by its multi-systemic integrative model of work (cooperation between a psychiatrist, psychotherapists, psychologists, social workers, pedagogues, teachers, and legal aid). Donations for this project through GlobalGiving have allowed Wings of Hope to provide vital support services to victims of the war in Ukraine. Wings of Hope therapists who have specializations in war trauma have been able to provide psychotherapy to Ukrainians in English, and Wings of Hope has been able to provide trainings for other psychologists to effectively provide trauma support to Ukrainians. Below, you can read the story of one individual who came to Wings of Hope for help.
"S", 29-year-old female
S left Kyiv in March 2022 to be with her mother in a small village in Ukraine. When Russians began to occupy the village, S and her family packed a car with 8 people in an attempt to escape; S was forced to sit in her mother's lap. As they were passing a checkpoint, their car was hit by an RPG while S was bending down. When S sat back up, half of her mother was missing, the person next to her was missing both arms, and the driver had been killed. Then, S realized she was also wounded in the back.
S was taken to a hospital in Ukraine to treat her wounds initially. Since her injury, S has now left the hospital and evacuated to Poland. S is working with a Wings of Hope psychotherapist with a specialization in war trauma. The first step was to treat her acute trauma; S has shown positive progression and is now working through the grieving process. Because Bosnians had similar experiences, it was easy for the therapist to develop trust and understanding, as well as recognize the feelings that S has.
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