People shared their thoughts and feelings: they said that it felt nice that we were there, and could listen to their stories.
Play For Peace is grateful to our Certified trainers and partners in Nepal, who have been working with relief camps in various villages to share Play for Peace activities and strategies. They have also been training HomeNet Nepal staff and field workers! Led by Daya Lakshmi, participants are learning about sharing empathy, understanding trauma, and the healing power of play. Below are some images and field notes from various sessions in Chapagaon, Badikhel, and Pharping.
Notes from Chapagaon: "Yesterday morning, the sun was shining. We went to one of the villages in which all of the houses were destroyed. We conducted a morning session with the children, playing games and, later in the day, learning about empathy. We went to the same village today, distributing food and blankets. People shared their thoughts and feelings: they said that it felt nice that we were there, and could listen to their stories."
"What an awesome day. We had a wonderful session with children from the ages of 3 to 14. We spoke about physical and emotional safety and how they can talk about these issues with other children through games. It was a superb discussion with lots of play."
Notes from Pharping and Badikhel: "We did a lot of great work with the HomeNet youth staff today. We also worked with various volunteers and kids. We enjoyed watching the community slowly regain their routine: people are getting back to day-to-day life and farming. The citizens are kind and open: there was an old woman in Pharping who loved to talk with us, whether we understood her or not. We loved to listen! The Badikel youth group that we worked with during a three-day PFP training group was also exciting! One of the days we worked strictly with the girls, as the men had gone to Pharping to help build shelters. We were able to provide these shelters with all our wonderful contributions and donations. The girls took the opportunity to share their own stories; we talked about the difficulties of being a girl in the community, and also about how they could make a difference for both kids and adults."
[gallery ids="2538,2537,2535,2512,2514,2513,2505,2506,2504"]
