Got Bounce? is Pauletta Washington's educational series on the UN Development Programme's Crisis Prevention and Recovery.
Roots & Wings
The exquisite love of a parent for a child provides the foundation for courage and resilience. Parenting skills develop from on-the-job training and are continuously a work in progress. Wisdom derives from lived experiences.
The idealized parent teaches, helps and shields his child. One of the greatest gifts parents give to their children is the chance to grow, to become independent and sufficiently resilient to go into the world and experience all that life will bring, and to bounce back from both ups and downs.
The idealized parent understands that his own challenges, hardships and struggles will differ from those of his children, but he also knows that no generation is exempt from uncertainty or harsh realities. Parents are not always able to assuage hunger and pain. While all parents seek for their children to be responsible, to work hard and to thrive, the help they can offer is limited.
The melancholy in the lyrics derives from a universal parental longing to hold onto childhood forever. The parent’s obligation is to prepare the child to separate; the child’s responsibility is to prepare himself, and to let go.
Got Bounce? helps people of all ages to build the skills necessary for recovery from any crisis.
Refugee communities are often close-knit groups of people who strive to hold on to their cultural past but accept the new lives they have been given.
Almost half of the world’s forcibly displaced people are children and many spend their entire childhood far from home. Whether they are refugees, internally displaced, asylum-seekers or stateless, children are at a greater risk of abuse, neglect, violence, exploitation, trafficking or forced military recruitment. They may also have witnessed or experienced violent acts and/or been separated from their families.
However, children are highly resilient. They find ways to cope and draw strength from their families and communities. By learning, playing and having space to explore their talents and skills, children can be active members of the community.
