Play Brings Healing in Times of Trauma

Children in Jalozai Refugee Camp releasing doves during a CPI play and story event.

Play: A Child's Pathway to Healing

Play is a powerful force in a child's life, and it's a vital tool for healing after trauma. By providing children with opportunities to engage in play, we can help them navigate their emotional landscape, rebuild their resilience, and ultimately find their way back to a sense of hope and well-being.

For children, play isn't just fun; it's a language. It's how they process the world, understand their emotions, and build resilience. This is especially true when facing the overwhelming experience of trauma. While trauma can leave deep emotional scars, play provides a powerful avenue for healing, offering a safe space for children to explore, express, and ultimately overcome their pain.

Play Brings Healing: CPI’s Mission to Support Traumatized Children Through Play

Trauma takes many forms – pandemics, war, poverty, HIV orphanhood, displacement – and it affects children the most. While we can't rid the world of these conditions, CPI is dedicated to creating places of safety and normalcy for children through the power of play.

CPI's purpose is to help vulnerable children get reintroduced to play, creative activity,  play-based education and the chance for positive communication.

We implemented a variety of activities including sports, painting, singing, dancing, and storytelling.

 

Creating a Safe Space

At CPI, we understand that trauma leaves deep scars, especially on young minds. For children who have experienced hardship, the world can feel confusing and unsafe. That’s why our storytelling and play-based programs provide a crucial lifeline, offering a safe space where children can explore their inner worlds and express their unspoken feelings.

Why us

How CPI Learned Firsthand How Play Helps Process Trauma

CPI’s first event was held in the now-closed Jalozai Refugee Camp in Pakistan, a tent community of over 150,000 people near the Khyber Pass. 

CPI created a mini-Olympics to support children uprooted by regional violence, aiming to reintroduce play, creative activity, and the chance for positive communication.

The agenda for the week included storytelling, painting, traditional song and dance, sports, and fun games. This initiative was designed to help these children regain a sense of normalcy and joy through play and creative expression.

Bridging the Gap: How Play and Storytelling Help Children Process Trauma

The Challenge: Trauma often disrupts a child’s ability to process memories in a linear, verbal way. Memories may be fragmented, sensory-based, and difficult to express.

What We Have Witnessed: CPI’s multi-media storytelling allows children to connect with their experiences on a deeper level. Guided by adults or therapists, children slowly unravel their stories, integrating their traumatic experiences and finding the words to describe their feelings.

girl in kenya drawing during storytelling event

The Importance of Listening to Children Suffering Trauma

A key element in this process is active listening. Adults play a vital role by providing a non-judgmental space for children to share their stories and engage in play. By carefully listening, acknowledging their feelings, and offering support, adults help children find solace and validation.

 

In all our workshops and programs, we start with a warm welcome and an explicit appreciation of the children present. The message is:

" We See and Hear You. We Respect You."

 

CPI in Kenya

CPI worked in two schools in northern Kenya, where many of the students are orphaned children, mostly due to HIV-AIDS.

Our local partner, Mr. Edward Kabaka, is committed to making CPI a sustainable contributor to vulnerable children’s welfare. We organized storytelling for children which gave them the opportunity to share stories that they learned from elders, as well as more personal stories. We also taught them the technical skills of using a video camera to film their stories and dances. The children gave us beautiful song and dance performances.

Sarwar Mushtaq, who taught the workshop, recalls:

“By the time we had left, they were talking about HIV. They were talking about somebody dying. They were talking about how they lost their friend, and this person and that person. It was about the stuff inside that was just finding a way out. This was an extraordinary development. We were immensely excited and, of course, we left the film-making equipment so they could continue.”

Drawing and Play to Help Children Express Their Feelings

child with drawing storytelling session
Song and Dance performance in refugee camp.
drawing helicopter bombing

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