Teaching ESD to 40 Ukrainian women, 40 km from Ukraine

 “I came back to myself” - Lina from Ukraine

40 resilient women and girls, participated in our training in Suceava. Located in northern Romania, 40 km from Ukraine, a city, where like many others, people have kept doors and hearts open to refugees from Ukraine. Last July 8, together with ESD instructor from Ukraine Tatiana Kolot, we delivered an intensive four hour ESD session. 

Women and girls from Odessa, Nikolaev, Kyiv, Chernivtsi, and from many other cities or villages from Ukraine came to this training. For most of them, it was the first time learning Self Defense. Some others, had practiced boxing, taekwondo, or other martial arts. I take this opportunity to thank them for assisting us throughout the training, much appreciated :) 

Some of the women came with their children, so, child care was provided during the training, which aided their ability to participate. Some other mothers, joined the training together with their teenage daughters. Many of them shared stories of harassment or threats, and reitirated the need for such training.

“I observed they were really happy during the training” says Dojna Fintinariu, psychologist at Foundation Sensiblu, the organisation that is coordianating and implementing the first ESD tour ever organised in Romania. "We could observe how difficult is for some to say no. It is important to continue with these trainings, as they are very important for them because of the experiences they have lived through",- continues Dojna.

"We are also using Safety, an online platform based on a participatory and collective method to gather information from community members, especially women and girls, regarding harassment in public and private spaces. This is new to women in general, and we support and guide them in using this app" - says Ruxandra Sevastin from Foundation Sensiblu. 

In an ESD training, women learn to protect their personal space and integrity through practical exercises, discussions, and risk simulations, thus learning new emotional and verbal self-defense skills. 

This training does not end here. Staff of Sensiblu foundation and participants, expressed their high interest in becoming ESD instructors. We will work hard to organise a training of trainers for Ukrainian women community leaders for them to be able to learn the ESD methodology and bring it to their communities.

Thanks to Bucovina Health Club for their support and kindness of hosting us! Thank you to the beautiful and comitted team of Foundation Sensiblu! Thank you participants for your interest, trust and presence in such a large number! Thank you Amurtel Romania for the educational materials offered to the children!

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The activity is part of the project “Provision of Specialized Support and Services to GBV Survivors” implemented by the Sensiblu Foundation in partnership with UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, from January 01 to December 31, 2023. The project aims to raise awareness, prevent the emergence and reduce the risk of gender-based violence, as well as specialized support - social counseling, psychotherapy and legal counseling - for survivors of violence in Ukraine, located in Bucharest, Suceava, Constan iecta, Gala Proi, Cluj-Napoca and Râmnicu Vâlcea.

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Should you be interested to know more about the training of trainers, send a message to gentianas@esdglobalselfdefense.org

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