Facing children’s stress and traumas in creative and productive way

Healing and Learning through the Arts (HEART) training for trainers for 40 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia is being held in Sarajevo from 10-13 December this year. Training is organized by Save the Children in North West Balkans (SCiNWB) in cooperation with Association Land of Children from Tuzla and additional support from Save the Children US (SCUS).

HEART presents highly praised and innovative concept developed five years ago by Save the Children US to supplement programs such as education or child protection in order to help children to identify and overcome their traumas and stresses in fun and learning way that helps them in their future endeavors. 

„Having HEART concept in everyday work of Drop in Centers is extremely important as children beneficiaries are daily exposed to chronic stress and suffer severe trauma that dramatically limit the way children see themselves and others as well their life chances“ said Nevena Milutinovic, Child Protection Program Coordinator in SCiNWB.

Training is designed for work with different age groups of children from 3 to 18 and in North West Balkans context it will be used by pre-school professionals from BiH and professionals working in seven Drop-in centers for street involved children in BiH and Serbia. 

„It is a universal and powerful Concept that positively affects children from early years to adolescence in walking through some of stressful, traumatic and challenging situations at home, kindergartens, schools - practically in everyday life,“ said Fatima Smajlovic, Education Program Manager in SCiNWB.

HEART is important for all children, regardless of their socio-economic status. “All the children will experience stress in some part of their lives and this program will help them to process this stress in most creative and productive way that will improve their learning abilities,“ said Sara Hommel, Director of HEART program in Save the Children US.  

Training has been so far presented in Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America and is for the first time introduced in Eastern Europe. According to Gina Alfonso, consultant/trainer for the HEART „this is a flexible methodology that is adapting to local contexts“ and its main value is that “it builds on strengths of the children rather than on their traumas“. HEART methodology actually encompasses comprehensive Save the Children US experience gathered through different programs in education, child protection, and psycho-social support and similar implemented in different parts of the world.  Usage of all types of arts to help children identify and learn from their traumas was greatest learning outcome that Save the Children US successfully applied in this program.  

„It is scientifically proven that children who participate in arts do better throughout the rest of their lives, they are healthier, achieve better in education and carrier...“ added Sara Hommel.

ToT that will finish on Friday presents the initial phase of capacity building of professionals that need to roll out this concept in their respective institutions. For this they will be further professionally supported by SCiNWB and SCUS.