CreativeArtsandSportsProgramme

1、Creative Arts and Sports ProgrammeSierra LeoneCountry backgroundThe Republic of Sierra Leone in West Africa is a former colony of Britainand is one of Africa s smaller states. The country s history is characterized by substantial political instability and economic underdevelopment. This is in spiteo

2、f the fact that the country is rich in mineral and agricultural resources. Lack of good leadership, combined with a host of other factors, both internal and external, culminated into the outbreak of a disastrous civil war in March 1991 between the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) and the gover

3、nment army. Tens of thousands of people have died and more than two million people havefled,many to theneighbouringcountryGuinea or to safer areas in Sierra Leone.InJuly1999a peaceagreementwassigned.Thefightinghasnotstoppedsince then, but with the help of the UnitedNations (UNAMSIL) the RUF is gradu

4、allymovingoutofoccupiedterritoriesandreleasing more child combatants.Children in the conflictThe children have had to pay the dearest price. Both the rebels and thearmy recruited and abducted children. A large portion of the rebel army arechildsoldiers,whilethegovernmentsidealsohadsprinklingsofchild

5、combatants.Many of these childrenwere forcefullyconscriptedwithout theknowledgeand consentof theirparents.Drugs,threatsand intimidationsforced children to fight and kill.Under pressure from some NGO s the government decided in 1994 to disband all child combatants from the national army, followed by

6、a gradually increasing number of surrendered and released rebel child combatants. Manyof these children have never been to school, while those who did, dropped out of school at a very early age. The future of these ex-child soldiers has becomean importantsubject on the agendaof some organizations,pr

7、ovidingandhelpingthem with accommodation,rehabilitationand schooling.Many haveproblems adapting to the normal society again and not all have been able toreturn to their families.Many families still live in rebel occupiedareas, otherfamilies have problems accepting the crimes their child has committe

8、d. Manyformer child combatants are ashamed of what they have done to others or feelhumiliated.War Child activities in Sierra LeoneAfter an exploratory mission in November/December 2000, War Child Netherlands started a project in Sierra Leone in January 2001. The project aims to help former child com

9、batants and IDP-Children (Internally Displaced People) cope with the mental and social affects the war had on them. Both groups cope with feelings offear,lossandguiltandhomesicknessandhaveproblems adapting to normalcommunitylife.Formanychildcombatantsacceptancebytheirfamilyand community is a problem

10、,aswellaslackofself-esteem.War Child uses creativearts workshops and sports programs to strengthen the children s mental and social development and well-being. Music, drama, arts and sports release tension, help children to express their emotions non-verbally, give children achance to relax in a saf

11、e environment, play with others and build self-confidence. Creative activities and sports are also very useful means toreunite different groups of children, for example child combatants with other children.Training local workshopleadersAn expatriate team of two creative therapists and a psychologist

12、 trained sixteen national trainees to become War Child workshop leaders. These trainees graduated in June 2001 and are now working with groups of childrenat schools, in interim care centers and in IDP-camps. Workshops run by qualified national workshop leaders are more effective because of their kno

13、wledge of the culture and the language. War Child is careful with the appropriateness and feasibility of its approach and activities in relation to the local conditions, context and environment.In the second half of this year and afterwards, the workshop leaders willcontinueto conduct workshopswith different groups of children in differentparts of the country. There is a great need and demand for the kind of activitiesthat War Child is offering and we thereforeintend to graduallyexpandouroperation in Sier