Collective Healing Centers for Afghan Refugee Children

The project is implemented by Youth Association for Development (YAD) Pakistan. The project started July 2022 and will end December 2022. 

The Safe Trauma-Informed Collective Healing Spaces Centers for Afghan Refugees are secure non-clinical settings where children can be children: they can learn, run, sing and play together. The centers offer structured play, recreation, and various learning activities with mental health support. They also offer early childhood education and early childcare and development. The safe spaces are also a place to share information on WASH, child sexual abuse protection, nutrition, immunization and vaccination. 

The goal of the project is to establish a refugee trauma support hub in the Quetta District in order to support the psychological well-being of refugee children, families, youths, and adults in Balochistan. The centers try to respond to the mental health needs of the afghan community and those of newly arrived refugees. Everyone is welcome and supported through trauma rehabilitation, and all aspects of mental health and psychosocial well-being.

Main activities of the Good Practice

1. Establishment of Baluchistan Refugees Trauma Support Hub (RTSH).
2. Establishing Four Integrated Trauma Support Groups (ITSGs).
3. Establishing two safe, trauma-informed collective healing spaces centers for Afghan refugee children.
4. Engaging caregivers, parents, and guardians through conducting different mental health sessions.
5. Psychological well-being for Afghan refugee youth (girls and boys).
6. Organizing creative writing poetry events for well-being and poetry readings in the local languages for a hundred participants.
7. Organizing local and cultural shows including music shows for two hundred participants. 
8. Organizing cultural games for sixty players and two hundred participants. 
9. Producing a documentary on the lives of afghan refugees in Quetta.
10. Producing and showcasing a documentary of the project's activities.
11. Awareness raising on afghan refugee rights, reducing trauma, mental health issues and psychological difficulties through art competitions and exhibitions.
12. RTI model refugee’s trauma, and mental health-related IEC materials posters in local language producing publication and dissemination.

Partners involved

• Psychological Aid And Services for Society
• Amna

What challenges were encountered in delivering the project and how were they overcome?

Challenges

• Anti-refugee sentiment and heightened security concerns across the country & Baluchistan province.
• Risks related to the COVID-19 pandemic affected the project due to the need for social distancing and lockdowns.

How they were overcome

• Mitigated through risks mitigation strategies.
• Mitigated through COVID-19 SOPs defined preventions principles & rules regulations applied in the delivery of the project.

Results of the Good Practice

• Established Baluchistan refugee’s trauma support hub in District Quetta, supported the psychological well-being of children, families, youth and adults of Afghan Refugees in Baluchistan.
• Responded to and met the mental health needs of Afghan communities and newly arrived Afghan refugees in Quetta.
• Reduced Afghan refugee's pains, hurts, issues, and challenges and decreased their trauma.
• Improved Afghan refugees' overall well-being through improved mental health.
• Refugees are celebrating their lives with happiness, dignity and equality.

In what way does the good practice meet one or more of the four objectives of the Global Compact on Refugees?

Objective 2: Enhance refugee self-reliance

Mental health well-being positively impacts refugee self-reliance. 

Next steps

Extend the project based on our learning, achievements, best practices, new innovations and Afghan Refugees' needs and demands.

Are there areas in which support would be required to continue and/or scale up your good practice?

We need financial support, coordination, collaboration and partnership.