“This is the first time I make a candle with my own hands. I’ll light it in the darkness of the night in the hope it’ll protect my family and keep it safe.”
This is what a woman said during the recreational series sessions conducted by the Syrian Society for Social Development (SSSD) team at the Nabd Center, Behm Camps, Sweida, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in the context of the Child Protection Programme.
The series included teaching children, adolescents and caregivers how to make candles, color them and pour them into molds designated for this purpose, as well as how to use and light them to meet their need in obtaining simple light at night to ensure their safety while they are in
the tents. At the conclusion of the session, an adolescent said:
“I love the light of the candle a lot. I made it in the shape of a heart to offer it to my mother to express my great love to her.”
With every seed that we planted, we sowed love.We were happy like little children while we were planting and we will continue the journey so that we can always benefit the people of the area.” This was expressed by one of the women who participated in the initiative to grow vegetables at home, which was held in the village of Al Wadhihi in Aleppo.
In an atmosphere full of joy, 16 women and children from the local community participated in planting a variety of vegetables in the home gardens of 75 families of displaced and returnees, with the aim of securing healthy food for these families.
Moreover, this was done with the intent to benefit and make use of the large household spaces in the village and providing children with a culture of caring for the land and raising the standard of their health.
This community initiative was carried out in cooperation between the Syrian Society for Social Development and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
Because children need a healthy body to help them grow properly during their different life stages, the Syrian Society for Social Development, in cooperation with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, have implemented a series of joint sessions between the home rehabilitation program for people with disabilities and the health point in the Al Hader community space.
The sessions targeted caregivers and their children, and included a theatrical performance and interactive games directed at developing motor activities and encouraging independence.
During the sessions, emphasis was placed on the need to take care of public health, and attention to personal hygiene (teeth, nails and hair), in addition to taking care of good nutrition and adequate sleep for parents and children. The concept of reproductive health for mothers and the importance of breastfeeding the child was also clarified.
In the end, a set of simple tools were distributed that can help parents as well as children lead a healthy life. One of the children expressed his thoughts, saying: "I will take care of my hygiene more in order for my body to become better and healthier."
With the aim of raising the awareness of young people about the thinking process that they need at this age, and introducing them to how to use the six thinking patterns to deal with life events, such as the use of neutral thinking when dealing with conflicts, creative thinking when creating new things, and emotional thinking to stimulate good communication.
The psychosocial support team conducted a session entitled (The Six Thinking Hats) at the Mosaic Community Center in Aleppo, in cooperation between the Syrian Society for Social Development and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
During the session, a variety of activities were applied for each type of thinking, such as competitions, theatrical performances, telling an imaginary story, and embodying a silent painting by young people.
The interaction was reported as very large within the session, as the adolescents expressed their thoughts, saying:
“I was glad that I got to know the patterns of thinking, and I want to start to pay attention to make a balance between neutral, critical and emotional thinking, because as I now think of my personality and how it must seem to others, I think I’m seen as biased and cruel.”
"I was having fun while I was getting to know the patterns of thinking. I always thought that I loved being creative, but it was the first time I learned how."
After the end of the session, the parents of the young people expressed the positive change they witnessed in their children, which motivated the rest of the parents to send their children to attend these sessions.