Hospice Foundation Gdańsk
Poland
Popular science activities as a new form of support for orphaned children and youth.
Mourning is an extremely difficult period in the life of every human being. It’s not surprisingly, that the process of passing these difficult moments among children is as difficult as for adults. It was assumed that mainly the family and the school should help the young person. The Hospice Foundation, opening the Orphaned Children Fund (FDO), went beyond the traditional patterns of coping with longing. Apart from traditional games and trips, FDO offers scientific demonstrations, during which a young person not only learns through play, but also quickly opens up to other people. This project assumes the formation of a Pomeranian support network for bereaved children, in which research and teaching staff will offer experimental activities for children. A new set of tools ready to use for those bereaved children and teenagers will be assessed and presented as practical help for those who lead support groups after a loss. This project assumes that through meetings with science, the palliative care professionals and volunteers cooperating with patients and their bereaved families on a daily basis will find relief in this type of meetings. It could be called a new antidote to the burnout phenomenon present there. Through such cooperation, the research will let educational units to join in activities related to supporting children and youth after loss. The contact of scientists with different professionals and volunteers of palliative care will also allow for an open discussion about the problems of transitoriness, fragility of life, dying, death and mourning in their environment. Through help to those affected by the death drama, the topic crowded out of the social consciousness will become closer to the scientists, who undertake the role of volunteers supporting others in a difficult period of their lives. This way they will have a chance to become active part of compassionate community concept in local communities.