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Pavlo is a 14 year-old boy from Lugansk (Ukraine) whose family moved to Kramatorsk last year. Before the ongoing conflict, Pavlo had good marks in school, and he was fond of athletics. The first months in his new school in Kramatorsk were very difficult and he was often angry, aggressive and fighting with his classmates. Being lonely and feeling out of place, his biggest fear was to not play sports any longer.
Pavlo’s teacher invited him to come to the “ludoteka”. Pavlo’s classmates and himself were not very friendly at the start but over time, he started to join creative games and finally became fully integrated into the school team and community. One day after class, Pavlo said to his teacher: "We need to finish every day like this. Thank you!" Pavlo practices sports again and has rebuilt a new comfort zone.
Creative spaces to play
In 2015, Terre des hommes (Tdh) has teamed up with teachers and psychologists in Kramatorsk - a small town in Eastern Ukraine, one of the epicenters of the ongoing conflict - to improve psychosocial support to children in communities hosting internally displaced people (IDPs). Together they developed creative spaces for the children and called them “ludotekas”.
These safe spaces offer the children, community members, local teachers and psychologists a unique environment of inspiration and collaboration opportunities to help each other. It creates a positive impact on the adaptation and education of the children affected by the conflict.
The children of Pavlo’s school called their ludoteka “Hippopotamus”. They felt that the image of a big, calm and kind animal illustrated best how they have been recovering and getting back to their respective lives: slowly but steadily.
Tdh work in Ukraine
In May 2015, Tdh established four ludotecas in Kramatorsk. Throughout the summer, about 680 children and their parents took part in the activities proposed in the open air by the ludotecas. There were creative workshops, sport games and activities for disabled children. Today, all four ludotecas are still functioning indoors and continue to serve local children, youth and communities.
Tdh also teamed up with Clowns Without Borders. Together they organized a performance in Kramatorsk for children in difficulty, displaced children, children with disabilities and their caregivers, which was attended by 650 people.
Currently, along the line of contact in the conflict zone 15 additional ludotecas are being set up under UNICEF funding. In addition to that, conflict-affected households receive financial assistance to improve living conditions via unconditional cash-assistance.
