Resilience
Paths to Resilience
How a child rebuilds after war
Resilience is the ability to rebuild after adversity. Not to forget, not to erase, but to resume the course of one's life by integrating what has happened — and sometimes transforming it into strength.
In a child, resilience is never a solitary achievement. It is born from the encounter between inner resources and helping hands: an adult who listens, a space in which to express oneself, a group in which to find one's place again. Psychologists call these supports "resilience mentors" — like the stakes that help a young plant grow straight despite the wind.
There is no single path, but several complementary routes. Here are the ones we know, and that our projects put into practice.
Four complementary paths
Create: expressing without words
When words fail, hands speak. Drawing, moulding, sewing, making: creative expression allows a child to place outside what weighs within — at their own pace, without being required to tell their story.
This is the principle behind our Motanka workshops: by weaving a protective doll, each participant knots their fears and hopes into an ancestral gesture. A hand that creates, a heart that heals.
Play: taming adversity
Play is the natural language of childhood. It allows serious subjects to be approached from a safe distance: one explores a character's emotions before recognising one's own, faces challenges together, discovers one's own inner resources.
This is at the heart of our cooperative game REFUGE: through the journeys of historical figures who faced adversity, young people build their own resilience strategies.
The animal bond: a soothing presence
An animal does not judge, does not ask questions, expects nothing. Its presence calms an alert body, restores trust, and opens up spaces for expression where words remain blocked. Animal-assisted therapy has proven its value with traumatised children and wounded soldiers alike.
This bond is nothing new: discover the role of animals in war — companions to soldiers then, supports for rebuilding today.
Transmit: making sense of history
An invisible wound stops being passed down the day it can finally be spoken. Telling one's story, listening to witnesses, visiting sites of memory, understanding what happened: transmission restores order and meaning where war has left chaos and silence.
This is the purpose of our educational trips and conferences: memory as a resilience mentor, for the generations of today.
Anyone can be a resilience mentor
You do not need to be a psychologist to help a child get back on their feet. A teacher who notices and encourages, a grandparent who finally tells their story, a neighbour who opens their door, a volunteer who runs a workshop: every stable, caring adult can become a point of support.
A child's resilience is a matter for the whole community. This is why our activities bring together teachers, families, witnesses, retirees and young people: together, we weave the safety net that stops a child from falling. And when the suffering goes beyond what those around them can bear, health professionals — doctors, psychologists — take over: seeking help is also part of resilience.
Resilience does not erase history.
It allows us to write it in the future tense.