Did you know that a simple piece of modeling clay can work wonders?
Save Ukraine, an AFFEO partner, has discovered that art therapy can help both children and adults who have endured war trauma rediscover a sense of safety, peace, and inner balance.
At their Hope and Healing Centers, Save Ukraine has developed an art therapy for trauma victims using modeling clay. Through this clay, they have found that children can express feelings that they struggle to put into words. Anger, anxiety, or sadness flow out through their fingertips, replaced by relief and lightness. Even the simple act of kneading clay has a calming effect, fostering a sense of control. And when their creation is complete—be it the simplest of figures—a child feels, “I can. I matter.”
As one art therapist expressed it, “This approach helps children who cannot express their emotions and feelings. We start by simply kneading clay with our hands. You can play with it, roll it on the table. You can feel it in your hands. In other words, we engage the sensory system. And through this sensory stimulation, we eventually help pull the children out of their emotional state.
When children see that they can successfully create something, their self esteem improves significantly. I believe this is one of those profound methods that seem simple at first glance but are incredibly effective.”
That single moment of simple creation can change everything. Small creative steps become giant leaps toward healing. Save Ukraine has found that often it is at a table with clay that children rediscover themselves—as authentic, strong, and capable of creating beauty.
We are so thrilled that one of our Ukrainian partners is making significant strides in healing children traumatized by the ravages of war in their country. Won’t you join us in prayer that the positive impact of this—and other therapies — would continue? Only God can heal the inner turmoil thousands of children are still experiencing as the war in Ukraine approaches the beginning of its third year. Thank you.