Mavi Kuş Solidarity Group Children's Workshops
September 2023 – February 2024
HATAY
Mavi Kuş Solidarity Group is a solidarity initiative that comes together to organize events and art workshops for children affected by the earthquake, based on the therapeutic and healing effect of art and creative expression by giving meaning to people's inner worlds, expressing their feelings and thoughts, and providing a safe communication environment.
Mavi Kuş works in the districts and villages of Hatay, one of the provinces most damaged by the earthquake, and it has shaped its activities in the format of fixed and mobile art workshops in the light of the observations of İHOP (Human Rights Joint Platform), Disaster-Child Coordination Team and FİSA Children Rights Center, which participated in the needs assessment studies in the region. These workshops are designed with the psycho-educational support from Doctors without Borders (MSF) and World Human Relief (WHR) and are based on the findings of the Mavi Kuş organization team working in the field.
After attending online trainings and meetings for a month and receiving information from the field, the initiative started its activities on March 1, 2023 and continues uninterruptedly. The main focus of Mavi Kuş is to create a safe space for children and contribute to the well-being of children with a child rights-based approach, and it programs the process of determining event venues and workshops in coordination with local civil initiatives, teachers and other volunteer teams, especially Hatay Earthquake Solidarity.
Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to ensure the sustainability of such efforts, which are carried out entirely on a voluntary basis, and to empower the local team. The main activities of these art workshops and film screenings are painting, sculpture, music, rhythm, drama, improvisation, movement, dance, games, photo-drama, stop-motion animation, puppet making and short films and they are held for children of various age groups, with a team consisting of teachers, trainers specialized in child development and/or children studies, and artists specialized in various fields, psychologists and local volunteers.
