Today I attended the volunteer training seminar organized by Fundacjn Ocalenie (the “Rescue Foundation”). The seminar provided a thorough overview of the basic issues we will need to understand in order to work at the safe space for children (“CFS”) which the Rescue Foundation is operating at the reception center for Ukrainian war refugees in Prezemysl, Poland.
The seminar was conducted by two full-time employees of the Rescue Foundation – one in charge of managing programs for children and one in charge of managing volunteer participation.
In total, 13 volunteers participated in the training seminar — 6 men and 7 women. Seven of us are from the United States; 2 are from Poland, one or two are from the UK, one is from Germany and one is from Switzerland. Two are originally from China. Ages range from early 20s to early 50s. About half of the group are students or recent graduates.
The training agenda was organized into 5 important discussion topics : understanding children’s emotional response to leaving their homes under emergency circumstances; planning entertaining activities to help children cope with anxiety and uncertainty; recognizing signs of possible child abuse; appropriately delivering “psychological first aid”; and abiding by the Ocalenie Foundation’s “Safeguarding Polies.”
The purpose of the first topic, understanding children’s emotional conditions, was mainly to encourage us volunteers to “put ourselves in the children’s shoes,” because the more we are able to empathize with the children we are helping, the better we will be able to figure out what will help them the most. So we brainstormed together about the various possible backgrounds of the children we might be helping, especially thinking about the hardships they may have suffered before arriving at our safe space. Then we talked about challenges and difficulties that they might be facing during the time they are with us, and actions we might be able to take in our roles as volunteer aid-givers to help them meet those challenges. In closing, we thought about what our realistic goals should be in terms of delivering aid to these children, paying particular attention to the limited scope of the Ocalenie safe space program.
After this abstract discussion about the children’s unusual circumstances, their emotional reactions and the scope of our services, we then spent some time brainstorming about fun activities we might organize to keep the children in good spirits and help them cope with the challenges they are facing. Planning and leading these activities will occupy most of our time as volunteers.
Next, we talked briefly about recognizing signs of child abuse. In the event we notice a child appears to be suffering acutely, we should be prepared to monitor the condition and perhaps refer the child for additional specialized medical or emotional care.
“Psychological First Aid” is the operative framework we use to monitor children who may be suffering acutely. Key aspects of providing psychological first aid include: being attentive, creating or preserving a sense of basic trust, and linking or refering the child to sources of appropriate care.
Overall, the high objectives of our work as volunteers include: assuring that the children have access to basic physical needs (such as food, clothing and shelter); comforting and calming as needed, cheering up if possible; assessing potentially deeper needs and referring for appropriate specialized care; and generally giving as much practical care and support as possible, without being intrusive. The last point about not being intrusive means that as volunteers we must respect children’s privacy by avoiding personal questions that may be painful or embarrassing to answer.
All in all, the training was a very thorough and intense one-day introduction to the challenges we face as Ocalenie “rescue foundation” volunteers in the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children at the reception center in Przemysl.