A friendly space for children to reconnect to normal life
About 300 internally displaced children and host community’s children benefit from mental health activities and psychosocial support in a secured and sociable space in Kaya, Centre-north of Burkina Faso.
Three times per week, children aged 3 to 17 come to this ‘wonderland’ to laugh, draw, paint, sing, dance, play and reconnect with a sense of childhood and innocence. Here, every adult work to make this moment memorable for them.
Salamata, 16 years, left her village around 3 years ago to move to Kaya because of attacks by armed groups. For the young girl, this space is a heaven of peace and cheerfulness. It helps her to develop a sense of security and to build her self-esteem:
"I come here regularly and I love dancing at the beat of the tam-tam(percussion). During these moments, I forget all the difficult times we've had in the past. I even forget the current when I am with the other children”.
Like Salamata, a lot of children have witnessed terrible scenes that have affected their physical and mental health and their general well-being.
According to Toussaint Michel Korogo, protection coordinator working for World Vision :
‘‘The activities that we organize for children help us identify those (children) who suffer from psychological traumas. Once they are detected, we provide them the appropriate psycho social care. If necessary, some children are referred to other services for better care. Our work here is a real commitment to protect children, most of whom have suffered trauma as a result of the insecurity in the villages, which has forced them to flee with their families.’’
In addition to the fun activities, this space is also a place for promoting children's rights and raising awareness of child protection issues and more general themes.
"With the animators, we learn to respect parents and adults, and we get lots of advice. They also share information with us about our rights and duties," says Salamata, who congratulates the community animators and facilitators on their commitment.
According to Toussaint Michel Korogo, who supervises the activities in the friendly space:
"These activities carried out as part of the Tileegré project, are very important because they provide a safe environment for the children, help them to heal from the trauma they have suffered and strengthen their resilience. By being here, under our supervision, children are not being exploited. Besides, it is a good venue for them to regain a sense of normalcy, where they learn, connect with other children, experience social cohesion and love while their parents are busy with other activities".