Eliška laughs again

Foto: Archiv Člověk v tísni

Six-year-old Eliška first came to People in Need’s low-threshold club for children from disadvantaged neighborhoods three years ago. Unobtrusive, scared girl with frizzy hair who did not talk much. She would not take her thumb out of her mouth for a second. A small child whose sad eyes were too mature for her age. She angrily refused all attempts to make her join other kids in the games or learning activities.

Eliška is from Ústí nad Labem and the street where she lives is full of despair, as most of its inhabitants are jobless. A number of her peers end up in special needs schools and therefore don´t pursue further education. As adults they usually depend on social welfare for subsistence and this vicious circle continues in the next generation.

We are trying to change this. Our project of low-threshold clubs for children offers an opportunity for real change for children who would otherwise often spend their time after or during school hours on the streets, with no parental supervision or interest. At our space, People in Need staff and volunteers teach, play and offer guidance and moral support to the children, who often face difficult family situations and sometimes discrimination outside of the home.

Our staff works improving school attendance, by making it a requirement for coming to the clube. The kids are also required to do their homework for the next day. At first we decided not to force Eliška to participate. After a few months of patient work she slowly started to change. She grew a bit more confident. She still hid her interest and secretly watched the other children from a distance. Most of the time she still faced away from the others, and sucked her thumb.

It took a bit longer until she grew bold enough to leave the corner of the room and join the other children and play a regular children’s game. In order to play, draw and learn how to write, Eliška naturally needed both hands, and so she finally stopped sucking on her thumb.

Eliška was attending first grade, but she lacked the skills that teacher expect first-graders to have and had a hard time at school. At the club she learned to name all the colors, revised the alphabet, practiced reading and writing, and expanded her knowledge in other areas.

With the hindsight of three years it is hard to believe that it is still the same Eliška – the changes she underwent are incredible. At the moment she is one of our most active children. For the past two years she has been regularly attending belly dance classes, she is always helpful, responsible and reliable. She is among the first to put away the toys and tools in the clubroom and happily helps the younger children. Thanks to the patient care of our social workers she discovered the three wonderful ingredients of childhood – laughter, play and learning.