Art Education and Rehabilitation Program
By 2004, AFG was able to establish an Art Education and Rehabilitation program for children with leukemia and pay for teachers to come and work with the children – a major step toward creating a sense of normalcy in their lives during the year-long treatment at the hospital.
“The children line up eagerly for their art classes in the hospital. They do crafts, painting and even theater performances, which are held every day at 2:00 pm after their medical procedures. According to medical research, 50% of healing depends on the emotional level of the little patients,” Lena Kiladze, AFG’s Executive Director/Georgian Office, said.
The art therapy program is invaluable in helping children overcome the difficulties associated with their treatment and eases their transition back into an active life after leaving the hospital. This is especially important for children who have come to doubt their own worth and abilities due to serious illness.
In 2008, Project HOPE and employees of GlaxoSmithKline donated quality art materials for the children to use during the AFG sponsored arts and craft therapy program at the Hematology-Oncology Center. This was a result of the visit of Zura Natroshvili, the director of GlaxoSmithKline’s Georgian office.
AFG’s accomplishment:
The art therapy program is giving the children more strength to fight their life-threatening disease. It is also giving the parents the knowledge that their children get a chance to behave like children for a few hours.
AFG Purchases Medical Equipment for Hematology-Oncology Center
Transportation of Children for Radiation Treatment in Freiburg, Germany