Students participating in the Humanitarian Community Service Program (KKN Kemanusiaan) from Universitas Negeri Yogyakarta (UNY) in collaboration with Universitas Samudra organized trauma healing activities for children affected by disasters in Aceh Tamiang, Aceh. The program aimed to support children’s psychological recovery and help restore their enthusiasm for learning after experiencing the impact of flooding in the region.

The activities were carried out in several elementary schools and community locations where children experienced psychological distress following the disaster. Through the Humanitarian KKN program, UNY students designed a series of engaging activities such as educational games, storytelling sessions, drawing and coloring activities, singing together, ice-breaking sessions, and group games to create a cheerful and supportive atmosphere for the children.

The trauma healing program aimed to help children express their feelings, reduce anxiety and fear, and rebuild their confidence after the traumatic experience. By combining learning and play, the students encouraged children to interact with their peers again and gradually regain a sense of safety and normalcy in their daily lives.

In addition to trauma healing sessions, the students also provided psychosocial assistance and learning-while-playing activities designed to restore children’s motivation for education. These activities were conducted in collaboration with teachers and local community members to ensure that the recovery process could continue sustainably even after the students completed their service period.

The initiative is part of the Humanitarian KKN program involving around 100 UNY students from various faculties who were deployed to Aceh for a month of community service focusing on post-disaster rehabilitation and strengthening social resilience.

Through programs like this, UNY hopes that students can contribute not only to the physical recovery of disaster-affected areas but also to the psychological and social recovery of communities, particularly children who represent the future generation.