Provision of psychosocial support in Child Friendly Spaces (CFS) As the Syria crisis enters its sixth year, civilians continue to bear the brunt of a conflict marked by unparalleled suffering, destruction and disregard for human life. 13.5 million people require humanitarian assistance, including 4.9 million people in need trapped in besieged and hard-to-reach areas, where they are exposed to grave protection threats. There are 1.75 M children out of schools in Syria (HNO 2017). Grave child rights violations continue unabated, with countless children killed and maimed due to the persistent use of explosive weapons in civilian areas, resulting in enormous loss of life and destruction of civilian infrastructure, particularly schools and hospitals. Recruitment, sometimes through indoctrination, abduction, arrest and coercion of children into the conflict, is widespread in all areas,. 

This project will be implemented in two locations in Aleppo Governorate- ALB-AB, with a population of 167.151 and 50.145 IDPs and Jarablus with a population of 48.276 and 14.483 IDPs. These locations have recently witnessed heavy fighting, culminating in the retreat of ISIS where children were subjected to the most grievous violations and injustice. The psychological impacts of the conflict have also been devastating to not only women and men, but girls and boys. Children living in violent, terrorized environments experience such horrors as destruction of their homes, and the death of parents, siblings, neighbors and friends. Children are among the most vulnerable groups in the Syrian war.  

The purpose of the project is to contribute to the creation of a safe environment for the children, so that they can participate in play and other activities that build social relations among them as well as to learn and help them recover from negative experiences due to the war. 

The project strategy focuses on building the capacity of White Hat PSS workers to provide sustainable psychosocial support services through child friendly spaces to the children. Generally in the centers, children and adolescents, (ages 6-17) will participate in different kinds of activities to develop their personal and social skills such as cultural, life skills, recreation and writing. Apart from developing their personal and social skills, the activities also aim at helping children build social relationships with peers and relevant adults. In the two CFS, White Hat will work with a group of children on set of activities for a period of four weeks. Children come to the CFS five days a week for 3 hours. White Hat will use two daily shifts - one in the morning and one in the afternoon. After completing the four week cycle, children are still allowed to access the CFS for recreation. The DEALS curriculum will be adapted to deliver the PSS activities. 

Also, Parents and care givers of children between ages 6-17 will be supported to strength their parenting skills and to increase the use of positive parenting practices for children

Moreover, awareness raising activities will be delivered in the CFS on child rights and risk education. White Hat will use the materials developed by the CP sub-cluster. 

Finally, children who need specialised support through case management will be referred to service providers through the existing mobile outreach teams, which is a UNICEF funded project. 

The newly hired PSS workers of White Hat and the current ones will be given training on a structured by the White Hat trainers who were trained (TOT) by Danish Church Aid (DCA). The training focus on introduction to the CP minimum standards, running a CFS, child safeguarding principles and PSS activities.