Moms’ Island retreat
One of the BEARR Trust’s partner organisations based in Odesa in Ukraine has developed weekend clubs called Moms’ Island – retreats for mothers with young children, in which the mothers get time out and therapeutic activity while their children are separately provided with care and activities. With many women currently de facto single parents this kind of project is important for the wellbeing of both mothers and children.
In one of these retreats, supported by BEARR from the Community Resilience Fund, 25 women and 34 children took part, and 25 individual and 12 group sessions with a psychologist were provided. Where issues were identified, participants were referred for additional consultations. Participants who were nervous about group sessions were invited to individual sessions with the psychologist and joined the group therapy when they felt ready.
Art therapy was provided for mothers, while children had a range of creative activities on offer – clay modelling, drawing, quizzes and competitions as well as outdoor games and team activities. All of the activities were participant-centred and aimed at building wellbeing and self-confidence. 70% of the participants said that it was the first time for a long while that they had had the opportunity to devote time to themselves and communicate with others without worrying about their children.
In the creative sessions, participants created notebooks and calendars using materials and photos from their activities. Due to the extensive power outages over the winter printing of these had to be postponed until conditions were more favourable.
