Abstract:

Generated by the invasion of Ukraine, its neighboring countries have been besieged by requests for help from refugees. At the beginning, humanitarian aid was offered, but as time passed, specialized services for parents who remained in Romania were offered in centers developed by UNICEF, local authorities and non-governmental organizations. HOLTIS together with UNICEF, with the support of the LEGO Foundation, adapted the national parenting program so that Ukrainian refugee parents in Romania could also benefit. Thus, taking into account the age of the children, their integration in nurseries and kindergartens or in Play Learning and Parenting Hubs, a program was offered that includes ten sessions, two of which were specifically designed for parents with young children, namely Trauma Therapy and Learning through Play. These two themes were scaled nationwide, with the participation of both Romanian and Ukrainian parents. In total, more than 2,000 teachers were involved in the Learning through Play Session, who organized this meeting attended by more than 24,000 parents. In the session focusing on Trauma Therapy, more than 9,000 parents participated nationwide. In order to facilitate the access of Ukrainian parents to parenting sessions, 34 parent educators from among the refugees were trained, who organized a total of 121 meetings with 156 Ukrainian parents. According to the collected data, the participation in appreciative parenting sessions has a clinical, catharsis effect on the participants, improves the relations between parents and children, develops and strengthens self efficacy etc. At the same time, during the meetings, parents developed strong solidarity relations, exchanged information for access to other types of services in the community for parents and children, connected more strongly with institutions. The research explores the session design, contents and impact on Ukrainian parents.

Keywords:

Refugees, Ukrainian, appreciative parenting, trauma therapy, learning through play, social inclusion.