This project will contribute to rehabilitation of children of Beslan where horrible siege happened in September 2004: 1128 kids and adults were captured for three days, 334 people were killed, 186 of them were children. Help is still needed there: people who received serious traumas still need treatment but also they have much more serious psychological trauma and it's so important for both children and grownups to see us coming again and again, to regard us as friends, who will not forget them.
We believe that our friends in Beslan need to be remembered not just in connection with the tragedy. We offer them another way of rehabilitation that will help them not feel themselves as only victims but as those who can be creative and support other people in need or grief. We want them to overcome trauma by learning, creating and helping others!
As we do every year Maria's Children volunteers together with international volunteers will go to Beslan and organize series of art master-classes for children and teachers of the School #1: painting, clowning, play games and make improvised performances. We are going to arrange development training for kids in mountains and paint buildings in Beslan to make it more colourful. Beslan older pupils regularly surve as volunteers in Maria's Children summer art camps where we bring Beslan kids too.
Children (a few hundreds) will get new positive experience and develop their skills and creativity. A group of 30 younger kids will take part in training program, develop personal and communicative skills, will come to our summer camp where they interact with children from orphanages and learn to be tolerant, kind and supportive. Older children as volunteers will be involved into making Beslan more colorful while painting buildings, help with younger kids and learn to serve their community.