Little Butterflies: supporting abused kids, Brazil

We can proudly say that the project ended the year with excellent results. In the second half of 2018 30 children have been taken in charge by the program. Furthermore 55 workshops and 70 home visits were organized involving about 500 children and teenagers. To increase the effectiveness of the preventive actions, 50 meetings were held with the representatives of the protection network, which involved more than 1850 people. Furthermore, 2 training courses and 1 seminar for the operators of the protection network were organized, involving over 1000 people. Finally, different material for dissemination has been realized, especially brochures and DVDs with videos about sexual abuse prevention. We thank all of you for your precious help! Together we can make the difference in many children’s life!

The end of the year is approaching and the group of supported children are participating in the last meetings of the therapeutic path. After expressing emotions and memories and having identified the problem through drawing, music and some role-playing games, children are now supported by psychologists in the delicate phase of reprocessing and overcoming the trauma.
The therapy that is in fact followed is the Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy: the goal is to help the abused children to identify and modify the behaviors and distorted thoughts about themselves that derive from the traumatic event, teaching strategies to manage negative emotions and the sense self-guilt that often persists after suffering sexual violence.
This method, based on the group and on the collaboration between patient and therapist, has until now allowed to achieve excellent results. Just the effectiveness of this therapeutic technique was the subject of the meeting that our local contact person Father Hudson gave last September to the students of the Department of Psychology of the University of Padova.
It is not the first time that Hudson returns to Italy to talk about his experience in Brazil and to hold seminars on the importance of sensitizing the community to the widespread and dramatic phenomenon of child sexual violence. This is certainly not a problem present only in Brazil and it is necessary to take all possible measures to prevent abuse.
A special thanks goes to you that, thanks to your precious contribution, you allow us to support Father Hudson and all his staff in the difficult mission: to protect the smile and the life of children.

Links:

• http://aleimar.it/