Education activates and strengthens strategies to alleviate and heal the effects caused by traumatic events. This is the main objective of the Emergency Pedagogy, which uses a series of resources, such as artistic and body expression, so that children and youths recover from a crisis.
In order for the effects of a traumatic event to not become chronic, or sometimes have disastrous consequences for its victims, it is important that the healing processes be incorporated as soon as possible. Victims of catastrophes, violence, and vulnerable situations due to ethnicity, religion and gender, need emotional, mental and spiritual support.
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The forced immigration caused by Venezuela’s political and economic crisis has caused thousands of people to leave their homes in search of decent living conditions.
The challenges of displacement exceed the geographic distance. Fathers and mothers, concerned about the future of their children, need to explain to the youths and young children the reasons for taking on such a difficult journey. Arriving at their destination, they have to face the uncertainties of an unknown territory, another language, another culture.
“We promote activities based on Art-Education in Emergency, and within it, the Education in Emergencies offers us a method with a philosophical and scientific basis that will support us,” says the missionary Anderson, of the Art-Education in Emergency team.
Expression, rituals and rhythm
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Artistic activities such as drawing are ways used for children to channel feelings, emotions, fears and hopes. The expression of the experiences is essential to avoid episodes or disorders of depression and anxiety in the victims.
Another method applied by Education in Emergencies is the introduction to ritualization, as traumatized children suffer from rhythmic disorders – that is, digestion, sleep, food and memory can become unregulated
According to the methodological principles of Education in Emergencies, “after a trauma, the life of the child loses its normality. In the midst of the inner chaos caused by the trauma, rituals create order, guidance and security in the child’s daily life. Thus, they support the healing process.”
Working with rhythm – from the calendar to music rhythms, games and percussion – helps children to stabilize, and also amuses them in the process.
The Fraternity – International Humanitarian Federation (FIHF) also encourages children to express their essences, emotions, biographies, and affections, which also make up the daily rhythmic structure. Spirituality is a protective and resilience factor that acts against traumas.
“When children and adolescents feel they have a safe space to express the burdens they bear and feel responsible for these times, for those moments then, a great willpower is mobilized in them. This helps them to recover from traumas experienced, strengthens and organizes them internally, so that a feeling of normality is re-engaged with, and consequently, the possibilities of learning and of growth,” explains Anderson.
Movement, nutrition, and concentration
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Our body responds to emotions. When traumatized, the reactions of our body involve becoming tense and shutting down. We do not need traumas to know about that; when we are sad, we move less, we lower our head more.
For children, the Education in Emergencies encourages games and sporting activities that stimulate movement and explore the potentials of the body. “This helps individuals to experience centering in the physical body again, activates circulation, stimulates balanced breathing,” the method explains. In addition, they deepen the feeling of unity among the participants in the activity.
Environmental education is also very important in contexts of immigration and sheltering, as it provides children and youths a contact with nature, a reconnection with the ancestral wisdom of the land, and is essential for the formation of responsible people aware of their role in the care and preservation of the planet.
Memory and concentration are the cognitive abilities most affected by trauma. Therefore, one way to encourage those abilities is to offer toys such as puzzles, memory games, mandalas for painting and other arts.
“Playing is the main form of expression for children. For this very reason, playing is a guaranteed right. We can use games to develop other skills, such as memory, concentration, language and motor coordination, the foundations for the development of intellectual learning. While playing, children also experience a healing contact with their own truth,” concludes Anderson.
* Obs.: some photos that illustrate this article were taken before the pandemic.
