It’s Time to Play: Access to Play’s Plan to Bring Art-Based Psychosocial Interventions to Benue State IDPs
Bringing Art to the Heart of Recovery
In Benue State, thousands of people have been displaced due to violent conflicts, leading to profound psychological, emotional, and social challenges. For many, the trauma of losing their homes, loved ones, and livelihoods leaves a deep scar that traditional aid and services often struggle to address. This is where Access to Play’s unique approach comes in: art-based psychosocial interventions.
By utilizing applied drama, improvisation, and creative play, we engage displaced individuals—particularly children, adolescents, and women—in activities that allow them to express their emotions, build resilience, and work through their challenges. Through drama, participants gain a safe space to explore their feelings, share their stories, and rediscover their sense of identity, while also developing crucial life skills like problem-solving, communication, and collaboration. In addition to these therapeutic benefits, our interventions promote social cohesion and peace-building within communities, encouraging dialogue and understanding among individuals from different backgrounds.
Why Art-Based Interventions?
In conflict and post-conflict settings, traditional mental health support services can often seem distant or difficult to access. Art-based interventions, on the other hand, are flexible, engaging, and accessible, especially for individuals who may not yet feel comfortable speaking about their trauma. By tapping into the universal language of creativity, we can reach people from all walks of life, allowing them to reconnect with themselves and their communities in powerful ways.
Our methodology, which includes techniques such as Applied Improvisation and Playback Theatre, has already proven successful in other parts of Nigeria and around the world. These approaches offer a way for participants to tell their stories, listen to others, and engage in transformative experiences that foster healing, unity, and social change. For IDPs, these creative interventions offer much-needed respite from the weight of their circumstances and provide a platform for collective healing and recovery.
The Plan for Benue
With the support of local partners and stakeholders, we are planning a series of art-based psychosocial interventions in Benue State. Our programs will target key groups within the displaced population, including women, children, and young adults, who are particularly vulnerable to the psychological and social effects of displacement. We will engage participants through interactive workshops, theatre performances, and drama-based activities, all designed to address key issues such as trauma, resilience, gender-based violence, and community rebuilding.
We are also looking forward to collaborating with Benue State’s humanitarian agencies, local leaders, and community organizations to ensure that our interventions are culturally relevant and have the greatest possible impact. Our goal is not only to offer immediate support but to help lay the groundwork for long-term recovery and resilience, contributing to the overall healing of communities in Benue.
We Need Your Support
As we embark on this important journey to Benue State, we recognize the need for support from individuals, organizations, and donors who share our vision of using the arts to foster social change. Your contribution can make a significant difference in the lives of those affected by displacement. Whether through financial support, volunteering, or raising awareness, there are many ways to get involved.
To support Access to Play’s mission and our upcoming interventions in Benue, please consider making a donation, sharing our cause with your network, or reaching out to us for partnership opportunities. Together, we can bring the power of play, creativity, and theatre to those who need it most, helping to heal the wounds of conflict and build a brighter, more resilient future for Benue’s displaced communities.
It’s time to play—because through play, we can heal, grow, and rebuild.
For more information or to support our work, please contact us at [email protected].
