Support grieving children and families in Slovakia

Thank you for bringing sunshine to lives of bereaved children and families

For more than 15 years PLAMIENOK´s n.o. mission is to help dying and bereaved children and their families to live more joyfully. We fulfil the wish of dying children to be and live at home. Through different therapeutic activities and projects, we help also bereaved children to overcome pain from the loss of a loved one and rediscover colours of life.

In 2017, we managed to help 34 dying children to spend their last moments of their lives at home. Our professional team of doctors, nurses, social workers and therapists regularly visited these children directly at home, tried to relieve their suffering and create a space where moments of joy could appear. They cared for and accompanied all family members, including parents and healthy siblings.

In our Centre of Grief Therapy, we helped 168 children and 128 adults after the loss of a loved one during individual and group meetings. We organized 2 weekends for 20 bereaved families during which the families could meet other families with a similar destiny, share their memories, feelings, relax and enjoy the moment of joy and fun.

Family S. described their feelings after the weekend:

“When arriving at this wonderful weekend meeting, we all had one thing in common - pain and sadness. But today, after two-three days, all is different. We have more things in common - shared experience of joy, (healing) laughter, dance and a lot of beautiful memories. We know how to understand each other, encourage ourselves but mainly we found out we do not have to be alone for everything and that is important.” Family S.

In 2017, we also started a new therapeutic project: Plamienok drama group for children. Under the supervision of drama therapists, eight bereaved children created an artistic performance “The journey to a land where we are missing someone” and performed in the Slovak National Theatre.

In the last week of July, in the north part of Slovakia, 60 bereaved children took part in the therapeutic camp. It was an extraordinary healing week full of adventures where these children could develop new friendship and get mutual support. Janka, one of the children described her experience of the summer camp this way:

“The camp gave me a lot to my life. It helped me to ease the pain, at least a bit. I like remembering it by looking at the photos from the camp. I would like to thank you for everything you did for me - for the fact you helped me, encouraged me and supported me. I found new friends during the camp, friends with a similar destiny to mine. Before going to the camp, I was hardly smiling but you helped me to be able to stand up and I was leaving the camp with a smile. I would like to re-experience it again. Going to the camp again would help me a lot, it would help me to forget (at least for a while) the pain and sadness. I managed to open my heart to some of you, so you could get me know better. Thank you. I hope we will meet again. I would be happy.”

All our services for children and families are free of charge. We cover all costs for petrol, phones, medications and medical equipment in order to provide home visits of children with life limiting or threatening illness free of charge. We cover all costs in order to organize weekends for bereaved families, the therapeutic camp, individual and group meetings in the Centre of Grief Therapy as well. All our medical, psychological and psychotherapeutic help is free of charge, too.

We are willing and trying to help incurable and grieving children and their families. At the same time, we are open to receive help from our sponsors and donors. Only when we help together, incurable and bereaved children can live more joyfully. Therefore, on behalf of all the families and children in our care, we would like to thank you for every gift. Each gift is a small light of help for the families. Thank you for bringing sunshine to the lives of all children and families we cared for together.

Let´s help them together also in 2018! Thank you!