Participation in seminars, conferences

February was very busy in terms of employee involvement in seminars, conferences and round tables. We took part  in a meeting of the City Council public service of social assistance; participated in a roundtable discussion on working with families who find themselves in difficult circumstances of the Regional Center of Social Services for Family, Children and Youth; attended the reporting conference of the City Department of Labor and Social Protection. February 5th, we visited the scientific-practical seminar-training  on mental effects of post-traumatic events on children, organized by the Faculty of Social Pedagogy and Psychology of  Zaporizhzhya National University. 26 and 27 February, we participated in the summit of the  Mennonite Central Committee on the formation of the relationship of public organizations in the community.

Also, with our participation, was organized a seminar for youth leaders "How to teach young teens to form the budget" at the NGO  "New Hope." There was a proposal to hold a second session. Discussion on the  budgeting  attracted the interest of leaders, because it is one of the main problems of adult orphans.

       The "We are Just Like You!"

Every visit of the staff of the  "Florence Centre" and the  coach from the  National Technical University to the detention centre is a bright and exciting event for teens. We try not only to carry out an interesting sport events, but also to give the children a piece of home and warmth. So this time we decided to make dumplings with potatoes!

For the guys it was so unexpected that they initially did not even believe in that and in fact they themselves have  prepared their   own lunch. But they did everything very well! 

Then we played volleyball.  After that we  went to the dining room, where we had hot and tasty dumplings. Guys noted that these dumplings especially delicious because they have invested in their preparation so much! School staff also came to a complete delight from the idea of making dumplings and gratefully accompanied us to the gate!

       The program "Healthy Lifestyle"

In February, will continue to work in the schools under the program "Healthy generation". This month, we held 26 sessions for a total of 7 groups. Our activities included quests for children. In such activity was included  the entire class that promotes team building. Interesting and unusual assignment for the teams need to show skill and ingenuity and lead not only to win, but also to improve the socio-psychological climate in the classroom.

Every time we try to come up with  something new and different. This month our colleagues from the USA were able to participate too. At the stations, students had to communicate with our volunteers in English and learn about them as much as possible. Since our volunteers did not understand  Russian, the task for schoolchildren was not easy. As a result, all students with dignity cope with the task and received well-deserved awards.

In February, we have finished  the lectures for high-school students on the topic "Stop HIV / AIDS." We covered 50 schools in the city, conducting lectures for  grades from 9 till 11 and for teachers as well.Total classes were attended by more than 2,500 students. All the participants confirmed the importance, significance and relevance of preventive work on this topic.

The project involved seven speakers (two of them - the staff of the  "Florence Centre"). Upon completion, the tea party was organized for the lecturers of the project and presentation of  letters of appreciation. All the participants were able to share their experiences, to tell what new they learned as lecturers.

Here are their comments:

"Thanks to this project, I was able to improve public speaking skills. The project has helped me to become more self-confident. "

"Having a large number of classes, I learned to quickly find a way out of unusual situations calmly and answer tricky questions of schoolchildren."

"I as a future social worker saw all of what I would do in the workplace."

In March, the  "Florence Centre" will prepare reports of the project. Also in March, in  media will be published the results of the project "Stop HIV / AIDS."

Training of Specialists of Social Sphere

In February, we continued to run the Balint’s group for social workers. On February 11 the fourth meeting took place. Each time participants felt more relax to share the cases, to analyze them and to find solutions to the existing problems. In the group there was trust, willingness to openly discuss issues of concern.

The usefulness of such meetings we understand on the  basis of feedback from participants: "When I come here and discuss something, then immediately begin to clearly understand what I will do with my situation!", "Just to express the feelings and emotions  is already bringing great relief ! Thank you”.

The Students' Practicum

This month we have 2 students from Zaporizhzhya National University. Becoming part of the team, the young women actively help us in our work. They develop sessions for schoolchildren, conduct these activities, walks with children from the  "Kangaroo" program, do methodical work, made a trip to the detention centre. These are only some of the activities in which students participate.   They  learn  to help others.  That's two things that we always put in front of our trainees. Students successfully perform all  assigned tasks to them  and improve their professional skills. Practice will run until March 14, 2015.

The Program "Kangaroo"

During the month, 19 people attended  the "Kangaroo program".

Was held on 3 individual consultations for parents who plan to visit our Centre.

This month began to attend a new child, V., whose family is displaced from the area of Nuevorussia.

The "Kangaroo" is proud of its success - this month, the program has more than 15 people on a daily basis!

Many thanks to the students of musical school №1, who provided us with a charity concert. At the concert we heard  the trumpet, guitar, piano, violin. As well we listened to the vocal solo. Artists have shown high level of professionalism for their age. Our kids listened with fascination, admiration. We are very grateful to the teachers of the music school for the good organization and performens of  the show.

This month we decided to take our children to a sauna with a swimming pool. Children were delighted  and enjoy swimming in the pool, basking in the sauna, relax.

In February  our colleagues  held a video conference with the teachers of the language center of Sevastopol "Meridian", on the theme: "A hyperactive child." The conference addressed the following questions: "What is hyperactivity and why a  child is hyperactive," "How to negotiate with a hyperactive child and build  productive interaction with him," "How to communicate with the parents of these children and how to help such  childen in the process of socialization." To our great joy, the conference was very informative and useful from the point of view of the colleagues from Sevastopol. Colleagues  thanked us for such an interesting and important information.

In February, we visited the City Program on  Rehabilitation  for disabled children. The department specializes in working with children with autism. Exchange of experiences with our colleagues contributes to the enrichment of our methodological tools, as well as the prevention of emotional and professional burnout.