RLO Education Incubation Fund (Kakuma)
MONTHLY NARRATIVE REPORT- JULY 2025
Project Name: Building Bridges Project.
Objective: To establish a safe, inclusive, supportive and welcoming learning environment among the refugee children (4-8 years old) at Kakuma refugee camp by improving their Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and community resilience through the play-based interventions and training their parents.
Activities that were held in the month:
· Learning with Play: Play based educational games to build both cognitive and social abilities.
· Group Psychological Support: Emotional expressiveness with resolution.
· Therapy with play and art: Group Therapy (using drawing, music, storytelling, etc. to discuss topics, etc.).
· Collaborative Games: The team games to enhance communication and conflict in order to heal his emotions.
· Parents, caregivers, teachers and local leaders SEL training on how they can play their roles at home, community and schools.
· Interactive meeting with leaders of the Somalia community in order to know the HSD services in accordance with SEL in Kakuma 3.
Employee training on SEL Activities that were searched on the google platform.
Through 127 children in this Month with gender balance of 68 boys and 59 girls who belong to various ethnic groups and who live in Kakuma 3 especially zone 2. In relation to the parents/caregivers and community leaders, we have already established four groups that have 73 members of which 56 are females and 17 is male. Sel Support was made during this Month to all children in the target age cohort of 4-8 years old as well as two children with disabilities.
The success was recorded in the month, depending on the following interventions:
· Mobilization of the community, through parents and the community leaders to achieve the monthly target.
· Application of the play-based sessions of 40 sessions among children that allowed children to access the social and emotional well-beings with interaction with one another and with family members.
· Incarcerating Meetings and 2 trainings with Parents and Community leaders that led to social change especially in Somali community.
· Meetings weekly with the staff to update on the activities that have been done on a weekly basis in the center and the community regarding the project activities.
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Highlighted Results of the Monthly Activities.
The percentage of children who have undergone social Mindset transformation is at least 30.
The Parents and the social and emotional learning facilitators indicated the decline of isolation and angrily mood in children.
The children belonging to Somalia community have been consorting with other children due to change of mindset of parents.
The various communities living in the area have realized the relevance of Social and Emotional learning services offered by the team of HSD in the center and in the outreach.
This was the case based on the following practices and lessons learned that influenced the determination of the SEL play-based intervention to children and the training of parents in Kakuma 3
Lessons learned:
· Consistency of Support across Multiple Contexts: SEL skills should be supported at home, at school, and in the community so that the children would internalize the learning of social-emotional skills.
· Parental / Teacher Cooperation: the close collaboration between parents and teachers is extremely important to intensify the SEL, in such a way that children could receive the assistance they need in all the spheres of their life.
· Relevance and Sensitivity: In order to be effective, the SEL interventions need to be culturally relevant and responsive to community values and needs.
· Inclusive and Supportive Environments: The building of confidence and emotional intelligence is built through the formation of inclusive and supportive playgroups and environments in which the children feel appreciated and accepted.
· The Leadership Implication: The leadership aspect of the community members is not only effective to the SEL programs but also further help in the enhancement of community participation in the provision of emotional wellbeing of the children.
· Role Models: To reinforce a SEL lesson to children, parents as well as teachers are expected to be role models in terms of expressing their emotions and practicing healthy social behaviors.
Evidence-Based Practice Best Practices:
Inclusive play group- agency: The purposeful mixing of Children of diverse nationalities of origin minimized the intergroup tensions and promoted social cohesion.
· Parent: Parent and teacher training and leaders have developed efficient teaching potential that is able to assist children to obtain continuous psychosocial assistance while at HSD centers as well as at home.
· Inclusive play group: Intergroup tensions were minimized through the deliberate mixing of Children of other nationalities of origin and social cohesion was promoted.
· Parent: Parent and teacher education along with leader training have resulted in a successful teaching potential that assists children to obtain a steady psychosocial assistance both in the HSD facilities and residential care.
· Cultural Sensitivity and Inclusivity: No matter who the target audience is: children, parents, and the community leaders, cultural sensitivity and inclusivity of the performed activities and training will be one of the keys to success.
· Engaging Interaction: The best tasks are the ones that are captivating and involve the individual to engage in the activity in an active manner in the form of a game, a discussion, or a creative work. The participation strengthens the retention and efficiency.
· Holistic Approach: SEL practices should be combined across all life areas -home, school and community and the same type of emotional learning should guide the children in these areas.
· Reflection and Feedback: Whether it is children thinking sometime over what they have experienced in the games or staffs what they have learned in the training, it is the feedback loops that help one leave the learning process better and keep on constantly evolving.
