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By Dorota Zadroga
4953 people have benefited from the Child Friendly Spaces program, which the Polish Medical Mission is conducting in 9 cities in Poland. The total cost of the activities, which lasted from June to December 2022, was €1,215,812. CFS activities will continue in 2023.
Child-Friendly Spaces is one of the activities supporting refugees who arrived in Poland after February 24, 2022 run by Polish Medical Mission. Its premise is primarily to support both adults and children in becoming independent in their new place of residence. Children and adults can benefit from Polish language lessons, sports activities, psychological support as part of integration. During the day, children can enjoy after-school activities, allowing parents to take up employment.
In October, Poland's Deputy Minister of Education and Science Tomasz Rzymkowski reported that some 200,000 Ukrainian students were studying in Polish schools, and another 200,000 Ukrainian students residing in Poland were studying remotely in the Ukrainian education system. It was necessary to provide additional Polish language lessons and organize free time for the children to spend with their peers, so as not to exacerbate feelings of isolation and to ensure their safety and healthy psychosocial development.
-The cities where we run Child Friendly Spaces are diverse in every aspect. We wanted to reach towns and cities where large groups of refugees from Ukraine have appeared, often living with Polish families, but not only near Poland's eastern border and in provincial capitals, but all over the country. We work with local governments and local foundations to create the best solutions for the needs of the residents - says Agnieszka Piasecka, Child Protection Program Manager.
At least 361 adults and 301 children have received psychological support, 591 adults and 405 children have participated in Polish language classes, 2167 people have taken part in integration classes and 446 have received other types of support. Those numbers were collected before November 9, 2022 in 8 cities funded by the Norwegian Funds.
-Additional classes are prepared based on the facilities available in the city and taking into account its location. That's why children living in Kobylka, in the central part of the country, spend more time playing group sports on playing fields, and in Ruciane Nida, in the north of Poland, they learn to sail. We want people from Ukraine to be able to continue the activities they enjoyed before war and not give up on life as they know it - Agnieszka Piasecka added.
As of 17th of October 2022 over 1.4 million individuals registered for Temporary Protection in Poland, the highest number among the EU countries. Once basic needs were secured, employees of local foundations, local governments and activists needed help to guarantee long-term support for refugees. The financial resources at their disposal were insufficient for such a large scale of needs, and there was a shortage of personnel with experience in working with refugees and those affected by the trauma of war. The staff and volunteers responsible for conducting outreach to refugee and host communities have been trained within the project. The aim of the training is to educate trainers on child protection in crisis situations, psychosocial support activities and emergency intervention.
-A large role is played by the creativity of representatives of local associations who meet beneficiaries on a daily basis. They have a lot of leeway in selecting activities, so in some cities children met with police officers and learned about safety rules in public places, and in other cities there were joint cooking workshops led by chefs from Venezuela and Angola. Psychological assistance is also available all the time for those who need it, both for refugees and the host community, for whom the last months were also a difficult time and a whole new experience - says Agnieszka Piasecka.
Child Friendly Spaces operate in Warsaw, Lublin, Poznań, Sieradz, Rybnik, Ruciane-Nida, Serock and Bielsko-Biała were opened with financial support from the Norwegian Funds. Child Friendly Space in Kobylka is co-financed by Terre des Hommes. CFS activities will continue in 2023.