Therapeutic story for children from Ukraina

On this page you will find the necessary information about the therapeutic story (and the guide) that you can read to children fleeing from the war in Ukraine.

Story of The Little Kangaroo

Story for The Little Kangaroo was created in Slovakia, in reaction to the war in Ukraine. Vast numbers of people and children have been forced to flee their homes for the safety of other countries. We could not stand by and watch, so we decided to help.

Many people, most of them women, worked on the story. We have different professions and live in different countries, but we have one thing in common. We believe in the power of stories. We want our story to help children fleeing war anywhere in the world. Therefore, we have written, translated, and distributed the therapeutic story about the little kangaroo. We have created it in a way that allows children to draw in it and colour it as they wish. The illustrations are in black and while for this reason.

The aim of the story is to help children process their experience of fleeing war in their homeland. It reminds them that children are skilful, have control over their life, and that there is hope. Hope that one day life will become bearable and even enjoyable again.

!!! Specific conditions must be provided while reading to fulfil the purpose of the therapeutic story. It is therefore necessary to read the reading guide first. In it you will find all the important instructions to make sure children are not hurt by the story!!!

In addition to instructions on how to use the story, the reading guide also provides grounding activities for handling acute stress. Anyone can use these, even those who are currently in a war zone. 

It is important to say that any reactions during a bombing or an attack are normal reactions to an abnormal situation. All of them are adequate. Grounding activities can bring stress relief if you have space to do them and are not in acute life-threatening danger.

Downloads

The Reading Guide for The Little Kangaroo and the story of The Little Kangaroo

The story is about the journey of a little kangaroo and his mother from a country invaded by a vicious coyote. It describes the kangaroo’s feelings and his journey to a safe country without his father who had to stay behind to protect their home. The illustrations also serve as a colouring book.

The Reading Guide for The Little Kangaroo 

Suitable even for those who are not in safety yet. Here you can find grounding activities for handling acute stress which can help relieve stress wherever and whenever it hits you.

Anti-copyright notice

All people who contributed to the creation of the therapeutic story hereby waive all claim of copyright and immediately place it in the public domain. We will be happy if the story gets distributed around the world, anywhere it can help. We hereby allow:

  • free distribution of the material
  • printing and distribution of material free of charge
  • translation of the material into other languages
  • graphic design and printing of material in other languages.

We do not grant permission for the sale of the material, nor for the sale of the illustrations, nor for the free distribution of the illustrations outside of the therapeutic story. 

Authors

The authors of the story are Soňa Pekarovičová and Táňa Klempová. Expert consultation was provided by Jana Ashford and Mária Balážová. 

Soňa Pekarovičová

special education professional
She works in private practice in CentrumDys. She has a degree in counselling with elements of play therapy.

Táňa Klempová

Psychotherapist
She works as a psychologist at the University Hospital in Trenčín. She has a degree in Concentrative Movement Therapy and is trained in EMDR therapy.

Jana Ashford

Psychotherapist
She works in ALMA centrum in Bratislava. She has a degree in dynamic psychotherapy, EMDR therapy, and emotion-focused therapy.

Mária Balážová

Psychotherapist
She works at LEAF Academy, an international boarding school. She has a degree in gestalt therapy.

Thank you

The idea of the therapeutic story came to me on the third day of war. It could not have been created without the willingness of many people. It is our common creation. It is my privilege to thank not only my co-authors, but everyone who helped. Everyone who worked on the story did so without claim to pay.

My big thanks go to:

  • Adele Režnej - for the sensitive illustrations (more here)
  • Vanda Gábrišová and the children’s magazine Bublina ( magazine Bublina)
  • the team of translators and people who helped with the translations. Valéria Černak, Maryana Shan, Linda Polakovičová, Katka Gabriš, Katarína Kovácsová, Andrea Varga Gyökeres, Eugenia Kanishchevova, Monika Filipowicz, Nika Franchi, Shona Schonning, Peter Wiessner, Lise Eelbode
  • Katarína Jirešová for logistical support of translations and distribution of the story outside of Slovakia
  • Katka Makara for support and interconnection

Soňa Pekarovičová

Our common desire, which brought us together for the creation of this project, is the desire to help children and their families fleeing war.
 
We will be happy if our story helps, although we wish very much that the help was never needed.
If you would like to share your experience with the story, we would be incredibly happy if you wrote us at pekarovicova@centrumdys.sk