We take play & laughter to children living through crisis around the world. Following the devastating earthquakes in Turkey, this project will create safe environments for displaced & traumatised children to laugh and enjoy moments of childhood. Our teams of experienced entertainers, clowns & musicians will tour the unofficial shelters, camps & temporary accommodation centres delivering a magical, uplifting programme of circus & arts which is shown to improve wellbeing, communication & skills.
Over a million people are still displaced from their homes in Turkey, living with inadequate resources in unofficial shelters, state-run camps or temporary accommodation. The crisis & trauma manifests in short- & long-term damage for children & families. Children are struggling mentally & physically, unable to process emotions or loss or access safe play. Overcrowding & abuse lead to long-term damage & negative coping mechanisms like not speaking, seriously low wellbeing, aggression & violence.
Our magical, musical, arts & circus activities are carefully designed to bring joy, respect, laughter, silliness and play to children in the camps and centres. Despite the hardship, displaced children, including Kurdish and Syrian communities already in the region, can explore their imagination, be active, feel special and create happy memories. This enables them to feel better, improve relations, develop new skills, be more ready to learn, improve self-worth & provide hope for a better future.
Our sessions are shown to improve mood, relationships & skills & help children process difficult challenges & social contexts. Long-term impact through shared, positive experiences includes improved mental health & psychosocial, cognitive & emotional wellbeing. Play develops essential life-skills like confidence, resilience & interaction plus increased activity & physical skills like agility, co-ordination and balance. Families benefit from improved trust, respect, pride & relationships.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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