In an increasingly hyperconnected and performance-oriented society, humans often forget the importance of stopping, breathing, smelling, listening, sensing and touching. Simple actions that actually encapsulate deep human, personal and social interconnectedness.
SAFE HUT realized how valid this need is for professionals as well, and allowed the WGSS – Women and Girls Safe Space staff to stop, smell, listen, feel and touch, breathing new life into their senses, perceptions and needs through forest bathing: a practice that combines personal reflection with reconnecting with nature and the present.
SAFE HUT supports the social and labour inclusion of migrant adolescent women in vulnerable conditions through the establishment of safe spaces, places where women and girls are supported through personal, psychosocial, cognitive and socio-cultural empowerment processes.
The staff, from Italy, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Lithuania, led by a professional practitioner, embarked on a path that allowed them to rediscover first a personal and then a collective awareness. This path taught the importance of giving time to the body and mind to live fully in the present, in a way that is conscious and attentive to one’s needs. Only in this way is it possible to open ourselves, with greater sensitivity, to the needs of those around us.
In the complex work of WGSS staff, empathy and empowerment are essential elements in the relationship with users. It is essential that those on the front lines, gathering the stories, emotions, and experiences of others, are aware of how to act both for the benefit of the users and for their own psychological and physical protection. During the two-day staff retreat, group work created valuable moments of human exchange among participants, resulting in a true intangible safe space of inestimable value.
Participants gained an understanding that sharing has the power to transform not only those around us, but first and foremost ourselves. It shapes thoughts and emotions, contributing to the well-being of others while protecting us from the alienation that social work can often entail. This awareness will accompany participants as they return to the activities, offering those who benefit from the safe space new lifeblood, sparked by the sharing and deep value each human being has left in this experience.
To learn more about SAFE HUT contact Cristina Idone Befecadu: cristina.idonebefecadu@cesie.org.
About Safe Hut
SAFE HUT – Holding safe spaces for women and girls’ empowerment is a project funded by the European Commission, DG for Migration and Home Affairs (HOME), Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF).
Partner
- CESIE (Italy, coordinator)
- Centro PENC. ANTROPOLOGIA E PSICOLOGIA GEOCLINICA ONLUS (Italy)
- International Rescue Committee (IRC) (Germany)
- KENTRO MERIMNAS OIKOGENEIAS KAI PAIDIOU (KMOP) (Greece)
- KOVOS SU PREKYBA ZMONEMIS IR ISNAUDOJIMU CENTRAS VSI (KOPZI) (Lituania)
- ASOCIATIA ECUMENICA A BISERCILOR DIN ROMANIA A (AIDROM) (Romania)
- ANIMUS ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION (AAF) (Bulgaria)
For further information
Read about Safe Hut, visit the website and follow us on Instagram.
Contact Cristina Idone Befecadu: cristina.idonebefecadu@cesie.org.
