This week, we held the last of a series of trainings on the Movement, Games, Sports and Creativity methodology as part of the new project "Preparing Schools for Social Cohesion." In total, over the past few months, four trainings have been held for 66 teachers from 33 educational institutions in Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipro, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
A child's natural environment is play. Play is a powerful tool that helps to develop children's potential. Through play, children develop, become more confident, expand their circle of friends, gain experience and acquire vital skills.
- Play helps children develop life skills such as self-esteem, mental stability and self-defense.
- It involves children in decision-making about their lives, promoting independence and responsibility.
- The methodology uses games with strong psychosocial and protective elements that promote creativity, imagination and strategic thinking.
"The MGSC (Movement, Games, Sports and Creativity) methodology developed by Terre des hommes uses play as a tool and provides the necessary support to children. Participants who have been trained in this methodology are able to restore and strengthen the child's resilience to difficult and stressful situations through special classes," says Vladyslav Olyatovsky, staff development instructor at Tdh.
We use these games and activities not only to work with children who have experienced trauma as a result of natural disasters, domestic violence or conflict, but also for all children, helping them to develop psychosocial skills.
Upon completion of the trainings, 66 teachers received practical skills and tools to successfully implement the methodology in their communities. They are ready to share their experience and start working on creating child-friendly spaces in their schools.
Oksana Halushko, one of the training participants from Mykolaiv region, said she learned how to conduct interesting exercises for children. She also created a project for a playroom. This is a space where children will feel safe and have the opportunity to get the help they need.
"I am very grateful to the trainers for their sincerity, openness, positive attitude, competence and for the fact that I was able to relax emotionally for the first time in the last year and a half." - Oksana Galushko, Deputy Director for Educational Work of Snihuriv Lyceum in Mykolaiv Oblast.
Thanks to the active implementation of our methods, this project becomes not only a stage of teacher training, but also the first step towards creating socially cohesive school communities where every child has the opportunity to develop and feel part of something great.
The project is implemented by Terre des hommes in Ukraine with the support of the EU4ResilientRegions - Special Assistance to Ukraine project, implemented by the German federal company Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Government.
