Playgrounds prepare for Ukrainian children: ‘We have already seen this with Syrian refugees’

Listen to the conversation with Bert Brugelmanns on “The World Today” on Radio 1 Select

“We feel very much like rolling up our sleeves wherever help is needed,” says Jan van Reusel, a spokesperson for Scouts en Gidsen Vlaanderen. But he stresses that the right framework is critical.

“This is not new.”

Bert Breugelmans of the Flemish Playground Work Service expects Ukrainian children to be in playgrounds over the Easter holiday. “We want to provide a safe environment where they can play to the fullest and forget their worries.” In 2015 there was a similar scenario: “Then suddenly a lot of refugees appeared from Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. So the Ukrainian children are no different from the children we see in the playground today.”

There are already a lot of foreign languages, he says. “We work on it every week and every holiday. This is nothing new.” Briogelmans says children find each other in spite of the language barrier. “You don’t need many words to understand each other.”
“A few years ago, we developed a guide with many concepts. Little things like this make a big difference.”

Give the kids a space to talk

Not only should Ukrainian children feel, but young people should feel welcome, Brugelmanns believes. He adds that pay special attention to your activities. Playing ensures that children talk more quickly about their situation. So give them space, concludes Breugelmanns. “They are normal kids with extraordinary experiences.

They are ordinary children with extraordinary experiences

This sometimes creates barriers. If we as a local process can eliminate them, they will still be ordinary children who want to forget all worries for a while.”

Listen to the conversation with Bert Brugelmanns on “The World Today” on Radio 1 Select

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