“SEEDS – Psycho-Social Support Programme”

For years the people of Aleppo have lived under bombardment seeing their friends and family injured or dead before their eyes; homes, factories, schools and hospitals destroyed. They were deprived of water, food and medicine and were separated from their families and friends as they fled the fighting.

The latest statistics show that 82% of the Syrian population is living below the poverty line. This percentage is still rising and the severe economic situation is having serious repercussions in all sectors. People are unable to cope with further psychological pressures.  

According to UNICEF, more than three million Syrian children under the age of six know nothing but war and have grown up in fear of the conflict. Refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) from conflict areas are exposed to significant psychological and social disturbances. This prolonged exposure to uncertainty causes many people to be in a state of ‘toxic stress’. If left untreated, the long-term consequences can be even more severe, affecting physical and mental health. In fact, there has been an increase in anxiety states among children that often express themselves in loss of concentration, distraction and excessive movement, as well as increased vulnerability among adults, particularly women.

AIM OF THE PROJECT:

The main objective of the ‘SEEDS’ Project is to support people in a vulnerable condition who have lived for many years in a war-torn country, with a special focus on children and girls who often know nothing but war and therefore need more psychological support. The SEEDS project aims to ensure better mental and psychological health of the beneficiaries through a psychosocial and mental health support programme for children, girls, youth and adults. The children are on a path that helps them improve their ability to interact with their peers, parents (or guardians) and other members of the community. Through the project, the children will acquire the necessary skills to understand and manage their emotions and develop empathy.

The SEEDS project provides life skills to adolescents, enabling them, through the teaching and dissemination of positive skills and behaviour, to cope effectively with the demands and challenges of everyday life. Finally, the project supports adults to alleviate their suffering and difficulties. It helps them to deal with failure and anger through various workshops. In addition, the project has a special focus on the needs of women, offering them a space for expression and support, with a special focus on those who are most vulnerable.

The project will pursue the following objectives

• Training of staff through workshops to deliver social psychological support sessions to children, young people and adults;
• Increasing the children’s level of emotional awareness and expression;
• Acquisition by the children of skills to manage emotions and to improve integration with peers and parents/guardians;
• Adolescents’ and adults’ ability to manage stress;
• Increased ability of parents/guardians to respond to their children’s emotional needs;
• Distribution of basic necessities among beneficiaries