Lesbos Crisis Zone Team
In July 2017 reGeneration sponsored a Spirit of Childhood Alliance teacher training for educators working with Syrian, Afghan, and Congolese refugee children on the Greek island of Lesbos. After closely listening to teachers and residents of the camp, the Spirit of Childhood Alliance team realized that very little attention was given to addressing the children’s trauma from war and displacement.
The teachers at the Lesbos camp are also refugees with very few resources. So our team worked quickly to create a trauma-informed education training based on the needs of actual people, not theory.
We identified therapeutic teaching materials that are widely available at the camp for no cost: soil, nature, and recycled materials. Teachers used these materials in creative activities that engaged children’s sensory system at a lower level than is indicated by their age. In a minimal amount of time, the refugee children returned to their age-appropriate learning level and could participate academically.
Change is constant at the refugee center. But our impact is long lasting. Teachers at the Lesbos refugee camp now encourage children to tap into their senses and creativity in order to transcend trauma-induced obstacles to learning.
