“Ola, Boris and their new friends”. A tale that helps children from Ukraine come to grips with a new reality.
Prof. Justyna Ziółkowska (SWPS University) and Prof. Dariusz Galasiński led the initiative of creating a therapeutic tale. It tells a story of Ola and Boris who arrive in a foreign country and slowly come to grips with the new place.
The tale, Ola, Boris and their new friends, was created with the children of nursery and early-school ages who had to leave Ukraine because of the war. The protagonists, Ola and Boris, find themselves in Poland and although they don’t feel too confident, the people and situations they encounter, in time, make them feel more secure and act more and more confidently.
The tale ‘Ola, Boris and their new friends’ is the result of voluntary work of over 20 people. It arose out of a heartfelt urge to show solidarity with the Ukrainian people. It took two days to gather a team of over 20 people who start working on the project pro bono. Apart from the initiators, the team included SWPS University students as well as
Graphic designer: Rebecca Scambler
Illustrator: Paula Metcalf
Translators: Olga Barabasz-Rewak (UA) andNatalya Didenko (RUS)
Language consultant: Tomasz Piekot.
Clinical supervision was offered by Karolina Matczak, and the tale was consulted by Marta Głowacka, Adela Barabasz, Tomasz Grzyb.
Right from the start, the Rector of the University of Wroclaw, Prof. Przemysław Wiszewski and the Dean of the Wroclaw Faculty of Psychology of SWPS University, Prof. Tomasz Grzyb were actively engaged in the process.
The book is meant to be a present for the arriving children. It’s free of charge and can be downloaded from the following websites: Centrum Interdyscyplinarnych Badań na Zdrowiem i Chorobą UWr, Uniwersytet SWPS Wydawnictwo UWr. Soon, it will be published in print.
The authors encourage parents to read the story of Boris and Ola with their children. They hope the children-characters will be guides to learning about the new country. And that the tale will offer encouragement in facing the new reality.
