Faith Action for Children on the Move: October 16-19 in Rome, Italy

Key learnings

1. The continued incorporation of faith into psychosocial and resilience programmes is recommended because it can act as an important coping strategy for children on the move and can support identity building.
2. Faith actors are encouraged to give children on the move access to religious and faith community spaces so the faith actors can assist in developing the children’s sense of belonging. These spaces can also support community building.
3. Thinking creatively is important when developing activities for children on the move. For example, interpretative techniques such as telling stories and legends orally and through traditional dance can be used to model how children can overcome difficult situations.
4. Faith actors are advised to examine the various guidelines and resources on working with displaced people to determine if they can be adapted to inform practice with children on the move. However, no faith-sensitive guidelines for psychosocial support with children on the move were found within the literature. It is recommended that guidelines be developed specifically for children on the move.
5. To build resilience and provide comprehensive psychological supports for children on the move, faith-based organisations and local faith communities need to be aware that work may be needed with other stakeholders involved in the child’s life. Support for adults, particularly parents and caregivers, is fundamental when responding to the needs of traumatised children. Similarly, working with the children’s faith communities is recommended when aiming for durable solutions and ownership of issues faced within these communities.
6. Spiritual support to children must be provided by those in the children’s same faith tradition. Secular organisations must, therefore, partner with faith actors in psychosocial support, because not doing so would leave out a specific aspect of life which is significant for a majority of people worldwide.

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Brief in Italian.