BKC was honoured to have the opportunity to speak at the 15th HPS International Symposium Research Conference and present our cause in front of a Japanese audience. 

The Hospital Play Specialists training programme implemented in Japan aims to support ill and disabled children by means of play because play is key to children’s well-being. This approach strives to provide children with a supportive and comfortable environment and helps build trust and empathy.  

There is so much we can learn from these experiences! Although the paediatric healthcare systems are very different in Japan and Ukraine, the values of the HPS Japan programme and BKC share a common goal of providing care and support for ill and disabled children. The ongoing war has prevented BKC from exploring new project ideas and directed our efforts to provide emergency help to children, hospitals and families in need. As the war continues, our goals are all about survival – on every level – be that for essentials such as food or medicine or providing sufficient hospital equipment for medical care.

We are grateful you have shared your findings on the HPS programme with BKC. Learning about the progress and findings of the programme over the past 15 years is inspiring. While at this time, our focus remains on emergency relief, we have learned much from your report. We hope to incorporate these ideas about play, confidence building and experiential connection in future BKC projects.