what others say about our activities

"Restorative circles create safe spaces for processing trauma and help people feel less alone and isolated. In March 2022, four military helicopters were flying over Cheț village. The children watched fearfully from the window of the afterschool building; one of the children took his bag and went home. Those who remained to discuss in a circle about what was happening, had no words; instead, they proposed that we pray together for the Ukraine, which brought comfort and unity. We can more easily find the solutions that fit us in order to deal with troubling situations/problems, when we are supported in expressing our needs and feelings honestly, without the fear of being judged."

"The best example is that children come from school arguing and arrive at the center and they ask themselves to have a restorative circle to defuse the problem and reconcile with each other... Our colleagues also apply restorative questions or the restorative approach in their personal lives, in personal relationships, which helps to build more open, more honest, more lasting relationships."

"Restorative practices are very useful not only in our community work, but also for every beneficiary who has applied them and can apply them in their personal life, wherever life takes them, including in the family. In the different roles we have, you don't ask why you shouted, why you hit, why you spoke like that, but you ask restoratively: what happened? you don't accuse with questions to which the one answering can only defend themselves, but you try to understand the context, and then it's easier to find the right solution and build upon it."

"The restorative practices ease out my work, they bring discipline, the children come from school, they all sit down, I don't have to tell them to sit down... it's a routine for them. They know how to speak in turn, they are aware of what they feel, what the person next to them feels. I marvel at how well restorative practices align with biblical principles... how do we love our neighbor if we don't know what they feel and don't empathize?"

"The restorative practices have had an impact in the children's lives: they started to be aware of their own emotions and the emotions of others, and I think they can bring all these forward in their families. They often say "I felt that" and they no longer say "forgive me" just formally, but they actually feel if they have hurt their colleague, they go to applogize because they feel like it, not because the educator tells them to. They used to be  more"fussy", they nicknamed each other, and now, whenever such situations occur, they realize that they did not act accordingly, they come and request to discuss the problem, or they solve the problem themselves; but they still feel the need to tell me that there was a problem, but now it's fine. The children opened up a lot and began to be more aware of each other's feelings, they are more united, they support each other. "

"Being a marginalized community, my desire is to show that they too can succeed, that they are not what other people say they are, they are just like us, they are beautiful people, they are people who work, who don't wait for help ... I love these people, not to mention children and young people... I feel that my place is here and that this community is part of me, of my life, it's like my second family. "