Students

The Humanitarian Centre in Gabcikovo provides shelter to many families who came to Slovakia after the outbreak of war in Ukraine. The approaching Christmas has led us to thoughts on how to make this time more pleasant for them. Despite the fact that in Ukraine these holidays are celebrated a little later, we wanted to bring them closer to our "Slovak Christmas".

Therefore, the Innovation Centre approached students who willingly volunteered. A group of people, from different grades and departments, came together to prepare and organize a program that was designed not only to entertain, but also to develop children aged 6 to 8 years old through interesting activities.

The language barrier, which we initially had respect for, was overcome by the clever pupils who had already learned the Slovak language to such an extent that they could understand us and helped us to create a bridge to their younger friends.

The most popular activity was the one in which the children made ornaments for the Christmas tree out of salt dough. Many children also took home 3 or 4 baubles. In addition, they were able to practise folding cut up pictures, throwing down "snowmen" who played skittles and also walking on winding paths through which they had to get the "baubles" to the tree and put them in the right place.

The children who managed to complete all the tasks received a sweet reward and we were rewarded with their big smiles, or even returning to the activities a second time (even though they knew there would be no more rewards).

On November 22, 2023, we welcomed Zuzana André and Maria Víteková from the ALEJ Counselling Centre to our faculty, who together with students talked about the provision of specialized services to women experiencing violence, including stalking and cyberstalking. It was very inspiring to hear how actively the female students engaged from the debate.