The Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF) has provided a grant towards the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” – trauma therapy program, which trains instructors to work with war trauma in children and adults using the unique methodology “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques”. The project is implemented by the “HOPE worldwide Ukraine” Charity Foundation with the support of Canadian partners, HOPE worldwide Canada.
The grant is for 2 years. During this time, 12 trainings will be held in the “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” methodology. As a result, 240 instructors will be trained, they will acquire new knowledge, and will, in turn, provide psychological assistance to 10,000 children in Ukraine.
“The Canada-Ukraine Foundation is committed to coordinate, develop, organize and deliver assistance projects generated by Canadians and directed to Ukraine”, says Victor Hetmanczuk, Chair of the Board of CUF. “We are proud to partner with HOPE worldwide Canada by providing a grant to help provide mental health support to children and their families in Ukraine.”
Taras Kulish, International Relations Volunteer of HOPE worldwide Canada, states: “HOPE worldwide Canada has worked hand in hand with HOPE worldwide Ukraine since 2015 to bring the Helping Hand for Ukraine trauma therapy program to thousands of children and families from Eastern Ukraine and Crimea. Since February 24, 2022, as soon as we were able to ascertain that all the members of our Ukrainian team were safe, we set about to pivot and expand the program to deal with the growing mental health crisis directly caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We are pleased to welcome the Canada-Ukraine Foundation as a key long-term partner. We plan, with the support of CUF, to expand our programs and help a larger swathe of the Ukrainian population than we were previously able to serve.”
“The support of our partners is extremely important for Ukraine in these difficult times,” – says Volodymyr Yermakov, President of “HOPE worldwide Ukraine” Charity Foundation, – “because while we hope for victory and the end of the war in the nearest future, we understand that the work with the war trauma will continue for years. Thus, as of the beginning of August, 13 million Ukrainians have already left their homes. Of them, 6.4 million have moved to Europe, and 6.6 million people have become internally displaced in Ukraine. This has had a detrimental effect on the mental state of the population. Millions of people need help, including children. The most common symptoms are chronic stress, anxiety, panic attacks, sleeping problems, insomnia in adults, fear of loud noises, loss of appetite, as well as bedwetting and nightmares for children. However, not everyone will need specialized help. Moreover, our methodology is precisely aimed at teaching children and adults effective techniques and tools for self-help and overcoming trauma in order to prevent them from developing PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) and other mental disorders, and to give them the opportunity to live a fulfilling life in the future.”
The methodology “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” is an effective tool of psychological self-help for people with traumatic consequences of war, natural disasters, and other cataclysms. It works well with both children and adults, as it is a result of the combined years of direct experience of working with child survivors of war and disaster.
The methodology was developed in 1998 by professionals from the Institute of Psychiatry in London, UK, and the Center for Crisis Psychology in Bergen, Norway, and has been used after earthquakes in Iran, India, Chile, and China, the tsunami in South East Asia in 2000, as well as war conflicts in Africa, Sri Lanka, Palestine, Iraq, Syria, and Ukraine. The manual “Children and War. Teaching Recovery Techniques” has been translated and adapted by experts from the Ukrainian Institute of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (Lviv, Ukraine). Since 2015, it has been successfully used to teach trainers and to conduct therapy courses in Ukraine within the framework of the “Helping Hand for Ukraine” project, implemented by “HOPE worldwide Ukraine” Charity Foundation.
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REFERENCE INFORMATION
International Charity Project “Helping Hand for Ukraine” exists since 2015. The Project aims to improve the socio-emotional and psychological state and wellbeing of children with war trauma and their families who witnessed and suffered from the war against Ukraine. The Project trains the trainers to work with the “Children and War: Teaching Recovery Techniques” methodology; provides psychological assistance to children and their parents with war trauma, teaching them skills of psychological self-regulation and self-assistance and techniques of relaxation; fosters cooperation with state social services in order to ensure immediate attention from professionals to cases of mild and severe mental problems as well as constant aftercare and social support. More information about the Project is provided on the website of “HOPE worldwide Ukraine” Charity Foundation.
Contact person for media: Olga Batiuk, mob. +38 050 359 7266 (Viber, Telegram, WhatsApp), olga.batiuk@gmail.com
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