By Deena Faruki | Director of Donor Relations
We are excited to announce that over 27,000 copies of the American Psychological Association’s most effective children’s books have finally arrived in Gaza and are now being used to help children, their parents, and their teachers understand and cope with trauma.
In December 2015, UPA signed a licensing agreement with the American Psychological Association, granting us the right to translate, layout, print and distribute five picture books that help caregivers communicate with traumatized children at their level about their feelings, anxieties and fears. The books are now being distributed as part of UPA’s Healing Through Feeling program, which provides training and resources for the teachers and parents of children suffering from ongoing trauma.
“I really benefitted from participating in the sessions and using the translated books,” said Sarah, a kindergarten teacher and a mother of two. “These stories focused on providing a safe place for the child, and an environment that can help him tell his story and express his thoughts and feelings.”
Sarah said that the books helped her understand what her 6-year-old son was feeling, and how she could support him through his trauma-induced nightmares, anxiety, and social withdrawal. “The stories taught me that it is necessary to use candid descriptions of the event, instead of using metaphors and placations because such behavior is confusing to the child,” she said. “It’s also important to help him understand that what happened was not his fault. A child sees the world though his personal experiences and may feel responsible for what happened, so he may be burdened with guilt. Moreover, the books emphasized expressing love and compassion by word and deed, as well as adhering to a daily routine.”
This sentiment was echoed by other mothers in the program. So’ad, a kindergarten teacher and mother of one, said that these books were “among the most important tools for working with the children,” and noted that they had a “positive effect” on her students and her son.
Over the last two months of the school year, a total of 106 teachers and 127 parents in Gaza attended UPA’s Healing Through Feeling sessions, ultimately benefitting 1,190 children – nearly double the number in our last report!
To increase the availability and quality of much-needed mental health support for Gaza’s children, UPA staff are also distributing a portion of the books to other Gaza NGOs and are in the process of visiting these organizations to explain how to best utilize these new resources. This work would not be possible without your contributions. With sincerity, we thank you for your continued support.
Links:
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
