VIE+W | How can sport impact the lives of youth?

Why doing sports is important?

Sports are a crucial part of a student’s growth and development. They help in the development of mental health and physical fitness of the body. Through participation in sports and games, a student gains various skills, experience and confidence that are helpful for developing their personality.

The enhancement of physical and mental development of children is certainly the most important contribution of sports for children Due to its vast reach, unparalleled popularity and foundation of positive values, sport is definitely one of the greatest things man has ever created. It’s also a powerful tool that breaks down all the barriers and helps us feel good about ourselves, both physically and mentally. Sport is quite beneficial for children too: by playing sports children develop physical skills, exercise, make new friends, have fun, learn to be a team member, learn about play fair, improve self-esteem, etc.

Improves physical and mental health Empower students with life skills Learn time management and discipline Improved leadership and team building qualities Winning and losing is all part of the game

Which types of sport youth prefer nowadays?

I actually used to eat unhealthy which led to slow running or lack of energy. I began playing volleyball and realized that if I ate better I would play better. Besides eating better, sports have innumerable physical health benefits, such as improved cardio respiratory and muscular fitness, increased life expectancy, and prevention of various cancers. Lastly, sports can improve your mood and your attitude. Studies have shown that sports can improve mental health by reducing depression, and improving cognitive functions. When exercising or playing a sport, your body lets out a hormone called positive endorphins. When your body lets out positive endorphins it can reduce stress, ward off anxiety and depression, boost self esteem, and improve your sleep. All of those factors can strengthen your heart, increase angry levels, lower blood pressure, and reduce fat.

Stay active :)

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by Vanessa Husaini

USE+FUL | On-departure tips: Erasmus+ projects

If you have found this article, it is because you have heard of Erasmus plus. Three years have already passed since my first project, yet, that period has changed my life so dramatically that it remains deeply ingrained in my mind. Considering my experience with Erasmus+ programme, in this article you will find some helpful tips on what you need to know and what you need to prepare before you go on a project. Well, let’s get started.

The first and most important thing is your travel document.

It all depends on the country you have already chosen, if the country you are traveling to is an EU member you can travel with your ID card, but if it is not in the EU you have to bring your passport with you.

N.B! It is crucial to have all the necessary and valid travel documents with you.

Find here attached a helpful link:

https://www.mfa.bg/bg/uslugi-patuvania/konsulski-uslugi/patuvane-chujbina/vizi-za-balgari

The second important thing is to check the route from the airport to your hotel beforehand, in case the group leader has not done this for you already.

Attached here are some helpful apps:

1. Moovit - Use it for public transit navigation, maps, schedules, real-time arrivals and more!

2. Uber - an American multinational ride-hailing company offering services that include peer-to-peer ride sharing and ride service hailing

The third important thing is to check the weather forecast for the dates of your stay.

After checking what the weather forecast will be, you can pack your luggage with appropriate clothing (usually the organizers of the project mention in the info pack what type of clothes you will need during your stay).

*https://www.accuweather.com/ is a great option to check forecast for the days of your project before you pack.

The fourth important thing is to check which is the currency of the country you are going to and then to exchange money. If the country has a specific currency different than Euro or US dollars, you have 2 options:

• you can exchange Euro or US dollars before you leave and later when you arrive to exchange in the local currency.

• you can exchange directly into the local currency to avoid having to look for an exchange upon arrival

Note that exchanging BG levas will be almost impossible in any country you go.

Also check your flights, if you have transfers always bring euros with you, which you will use during your stay at the transfer airport.

It is also good to check the amount of money you will be charged for paying with debit/credit card or withdraw money from an ATM.

Find herewith attached several links with the most favorable exchange offices in Bulgaria:

https://tavex.bg/

http://crownchange.com/exchange-rates/

The fifth important thing is the insurance and the student card.

· What is the European Health Insurance Card?

A free card that gives you access to medically necessary, state-provided healthcare during a temporary stay in any of the 27 EU countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, under the same conditions and at the same cost (free in some countries) as people insured in that country.

Cards are issued by your national health insurance provider.

Read more about it here

What is the ISIC card?

If you’re a full-time student at school, college or university and aged 12 or over, you can apply for a student card with ISIC. ISIC offers both virtual and plastic cards, allowing students around the world to instantly prove their official student status and access over 150,000 student discounts and offers worldwide.

The sixth important thing is the roaming.

European Union roaming regulations apply to the 31 members of the European Economic Area; the 27 members of the EU and their outermost regions plus three EFTA member states Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, and finally the United Kingdom. To make sure you won't be charged, check your carrier's subscription plan. Here are some useful links:

• Telenor

• Vivacom

• A1

The last but not the least important thing is the preparation for the intercultural night.

Intercultural Night is a long-standing tradition in Erasmus+ projects, and it is a favorite event among participants.

You can bring some traditional food, beverages, music, a flag, etc. from your home country. Also, you can prepare some quizzes, dances, games, bring small presents for the participants.

Here are some examples of what you can bring:

· Beverages: Rakia, Mint, Red/white wine;

· Banitsa – bring the products and prepare it there;

· Loukoum, jam of roses;

· Waffles – traditional ones;

· Lyutenitsa;

· White cheese and red pepper;

· Meat;

· Kashkaval.

Find herewith attached helpful links:

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aTWXh_Nei8

· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jen0xARe-Q

If you’re eager to know more in details don’t hesitate to contact us, we’ll be more than glad to help you.

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by Todor Kotev

LIFE+ | Caring for child survivors

My name is Boyko Tsenkov. I am a psychotherapist, and I am currently working on a project on sexual violence against children. As part of this project, we have developed child-friendly and age-appropriate communication materials to raise children’s awareness about sexual violence and help preventing it. We developed also various guidelines for parents and professionals working with children. We have created an online platform where children and their families can report sexual violence and receive psychological support and counselling, as well as legal assistance. Additional information about the project is available at: www.kidsprotect.eu

An experience of severe violence can render a child confused, unable to understand what has happened or speechless. In some cases, especially of sexual violence, the perpetrator might have said to the child that this was their secret or might have used threats on the child or his/her family. Often the child wouldn’t share what happened with anyone. It takes a lot of efforts and courage to open up and report. What follows is a long and hard legal procedure. Access to justice is really crucial for the psychological recovery of the victims of such crimes. However, sexual violence causes a lot of shame and confusion in a child due to the child’s thinking which might be characterized as self-centered. This mean that the child feels responsible and guilty for many things happening around them. Our project website allows for the child or someone close to them to report sexual violence. They can also receive counselling by a trauma psychotherapist.

A specific kind of psychotherapy is required to help a child survivor to overcome such a traumatic event. Every child experiences such trauma in a different way and their emotions manifest differently – ranging from forgetting the event to having nightmares or flashbacks. In some cases, a child could react very normally, as if nothing has happened. As a trauma psychologist, I can say that in most cases the human brain is trying to retain the overwhelming experience and process it. However, because these emotions are too intense and disturbing, a part of the experience is split and suppressed, which creates a psychological disbalance - as result of that, in the course of time a person can develop depression, anxiety disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. So, a trauma specialist, by using toys, muppets, drawings, talks and different art techniques, can support the child to rearrange this experience so it’s more bearable.

So far, I have worked mainly with Bulgarian children, but psychological counselling is available also to asylum-seeking and refugee children at risk of or having experienced violence. This job triggers multiple emotions in the therapist too, listening about the pain and suffering of another person might be very disturbing. On the other hand, it also shows the uniqueness of human beings who can find a way to recover even from the most unlikely of circumstances. Being a therapist often means to accompany someone in the process of discovering a way to restructure one’s thoughts, emotions and fears. This discovery is being born in the dialogue between a client and a therapist similarly to when a human being is being psychologically “born” in the dialogue between a mother and her baby. When it comes to working with children, this adventure is much more emotionally intense, and it almost requires of the therapist to take off his adult hat and put on a child hat and start playing with the child.

Prevention is a very important part of the work. Although it might not be possible to prevent every tragic story of child abuse or other kind of violence, prevention is crucial in a variety of risk situations such as school bullying, online safety, gender-based violence. There are three main skills crucial to prevention: a) emotional knowledge, b) critical thinking and c) respect for bodily autonomy and personal space. Building a child’s capacity to know better his body and his boundaries is crucial for that, so as part of the project we develop communication materials about the bodily boundaries and how everyone have a right to bodily autonomy or to have their bodily boundaries respected by others. It is important when writing for children to take on board their perspectives, so we run focus groups with school children on violence and bullying in school to test our information and communication materials with both Bulgarian and refugee children.

During the focus groups we talked with Arab, Iranian and Afghani children about how they felt in school at first when they arrived and how they are feeling now; what they like and what they don’t like in school, what are their relationships with other children in their class. We also asked them if they knew about a case of violence against another child around them. What the children shared was that at the beginning it was difficult for them to understand if someone was trying to insult them or was having a negative attitude towards them because they couldn’t speak Bulgarian well. It takes some time for children to settle in the school and learn the language better.

Based on what the children shared, Muslim children I talked to didn’t seem to have a clear understanding about what constitutes violence beyond the physical aspects of it. It was also challenging for them to trust me and share about their own experiences of violence. They often told in interviews that they would rather share about an instance of violence with their parents or with people from their inner circle. Overall, the topic of violence provoked anxiety in them and it was important for them to come across as capable of coping. Even more challenging was the topic of gender-based violence and relationships between boys and girls. Many of the children were coming from more conservative families. In addition, the experience of hardship and risk on the path to asylum often shifts collective perceptions of violence when a community had to desensitize and ignore multiple traumatic and painful experiences in order to survive. Therefore, it is crucial to provide an experience of different sensibilities towards violence and towards gender relations. Such different experiences can facilitate building a new perspective on violence or gender relations. However, we have to be mindful not to impose our perspectives but rather support the children in building their own perspectives. Any imposition of our model or perspective might be perceived as a form of violence and as such would be undermining the process of shifting children’s perspectives on violence.

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by Boyko Tsenkov

Participant in

TC “Let them be heard” in Braga, Portugal