Lebanon - Healing Through the Skies
Article Authors: Tia El Amine, Tala Hashem, Zeina El Zein
Our activity, “Healing Through the Skies”, was inspired by Dr. Samah Jabr and Dr. Zeinab Hinnawi, two mental health professionals from Palestine who developed and led this initiative last year in Gaza.
In times of war, emotional expression is often seen as secondary to survival. Yet, these doctors recognized the needs of Gazan children for a space where play and healing could meet — where joy could exist despite the overarching suffering and pain.
Following their example, a psychology graduate from Sour, Lebanon, organized a similar activity in her city, which had been bombed relentlessly during the 66-day war on Lebanon. On Saturday, August 16, eight children who had suffered from the war participated in the activity. Some were wounded in the pager attack, others had experienced the martyrdom of loved ones.
Since October 7, this kind of pain has become widespread. Yet there has been no real plan or support system to tend to the mental health of children — or adults. In the absence or scarcity of any official response (by the government or NGOs), the few activities that do take place are held by individuals or small groups, outside the frame of organizations. They aren’t frequent, but they are very essential. More are needed, especially when, like this one, they come from within the community itself.
The Programme
We began by gathering the children in a circle, grounding ourselves with simple movements and playful check-ins through our bodies. A short song followed, breaking the ice with rhythm and voice. Then came a name game with a ball of wool. Each child held onto a piece of the thread, said their name and the animal they love, and then passed it on. Slowly, a web of yarn was spun between us, weaving a visible picture of connection and belonging.
To open the path toward kite-making, we shared a healing story, written especially for this event. In the story, a kite rose to the sky, lifting away a heavy grey cloud that had long covered a village. The cloud — a gentle metaphor for the shadow of war — was dispersed by the kite’s journey into the light.
The children listened intently. The story not only gave them an image of hope but also provided a bridge into the activity. With excitement, they began creating their own kites. They chose colors, drawings, and shapes freely. Every kite was unique and personal.
Once the kites were ready, the children carried them with anticipation to the beach. The moment of flying was filled with joy and excitement.
From a therapeutic perspective, the act of flying a kite is more than play; it is a profound metaphor for resilience and emotional release. Holding the string gives the child a tangible sense of control — an experience often absent in the lives of those living through war.
The kites provided a safe outlet for emotions and fostered hope through symbolic action. The simple act of kite-flying became a therapeutic process: grounding children in their bodies, connecting them to one another, and offering a glimpse of liberation in the open sky.
The session was facilitated by Tala Hashem (clinical psychologist), Zeina El Zein (music therapist and emergency pedagogue), Tia Al Amine (researcher and anthropologist), and Jana Hammoud (SLP therapist).
Impact on Children
The impact of the programme was observed directly throughout the sessions. The children were consistently engaged and participated actively from beginning to end.
During the kite-building activity, they demonstrated focus and creativity, choosing their own designs and colors, which resulted in unique and personal outcomes. While flying the kites by the beach, the children showed visible signs of enjoyment — smiling, laughing, and interacting positively with one another.
The activity fostered peer connection, as children supported and encouraged each other in keeping their kites in the air. The group dynamic shifted toward cooperation and shared accomplishment, reinforcing social bonds within the activity.
Individual differences were also noted. One girl who arrived shy and hesitant gradually became more engaged, participating fully by the end of the session. Another child who initially refused to fly a kite eventually decided to try, and later expressed enjoyment in the activity.
A particularly notable moment came when one child, while running with his kite, exclaimed:
“My kite has finally been freed.”
His words portrayed the sense of release and freedom the activity provided, illustrating the therapeutic value of kite-flying as more than just a recreational exercise.
Why Kites Matter
In the context of Palestine, where freedom of movement and travel is limited — if not prohibited — and where siege is a constant reality, travel holds great weight and symbolism. Flying begins to represent more than just traveling long distances. It becomes an act of breaking free from siege and blockade.
In contexts of war — whether in Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, or elsewhere — the skies often become associated with fear, drones, and missiles. For both children and adults, the very sky above them becomes a source of trauma.
Flying kites, therefore, symbolizes an active attempt to break this association. It allows children (and communities) to relearn control and agency over one’s kite, one’s sky, and one’s reality. This is considered an essential element in healthy psychological coping, especially with such long-term and collective traumas.
Children can recognize that the sky can hold kites again, that it can be a source of joy and freedom, and that it can unite them in a playful, light-filled experience.
Additionally, flying a kite allows children to have a tangible experience of detaching from the physical space they are in, accessing places they cannot otherwise reach, and challenging the normal restrictions of gravity.
As mentioned in this article, the children who attended our event came from different backgrounds of loss due to the war waged on Lebanon. The event offered them a space filled with hope, safety, connection, and self-expression.
In reflecting on the wishes they wanted to send with their kites, some of the children expressed a wish for their kites to free Palestine. This event held within it many layers of healing — hope-building, resilience, remembrance, and reflection on the injustices happening in both Palestine and Lebanon, alongside collective joy and cooperation.
In a world filled with continuous horrors and injustice, one can easily lose sight of their role, agency, and ability to change reality. This event, alongside similar ones supported by Kites4Palestine, doesn’t only provide a fun and creative outlet for children worldwide, but also helps participants implicitly develop greater responsibility toward injustice and a stronger sense of agency over their own lives and futures. It stands as a beacon of hope and freedom — and a reminder of one’s own power.
Looking Ahead
Seeing how well the first activity went, our team feels this is just the beginning of what we hope will become a longer journey with these children, and others. In this first day together, we managed to build trust with most of the kids and to glimpse the particular struggles each one carries.
To keep nurturing that trust — and to continue giving space for both play and reflection — we believe organizing one full day of activities each month, blending entertainment with healing-oriented practices, can become a steady source of care for them.
If this proves sustainable, our aim is not only to expand to more children in more regions, but also to inspire others in Lebanon to create their own activities, or adapt ours, in ways that best suit their communities.
What Lebanon needs — more than any single successful organization — is for people themselves to start learning from each other, initiating their own activities, and contributing to a collective support system that children and adults deeply need.
Spreading awareness about the importance of play and healing for children, as well as building partnerships, is essential to share this healing work and sustain similar events in the future.