VEDIKA LALL / WORK / CALM QUILT

Calm Quilt

An Investigation into How a Positive Change in Environment can Encourage Resilience in Unaccompanied Refugee Children to Alleviate Physical Symptoms of Trauma.

︎ Awarded a 250 Pound grant from Imperial Discovery Fund.
︎ Semi- Finalist in Mayor Entrepreneurship Challenge 2021.
︎ Duration: November 2021

CHALLENGE

Research suggests that about 13.4 million Syrian refugees are forcibly displaced due to war, persecution or violence. Out of which, 6.6 million refugees and asylum seekers have fled the country, while 6.7 million people, who remain in Syria are internally displaced from their homes. Creating the world’s largest wave of displacement, a ten year Long conflict in Syria has had a devastating impact on the country’s children. (UNCHR, 2021).

Unaccompanied asylum-seeking children go through treacherous and dangerous journeys alone, with the uncertainty of being trafficked in circumstances unknown to them, arriving at their destination feeling confused, alone and disorientated. Children with extensive past trauma in refugee camps show behaviour problems and issues with self- regulation. Throughout this research, the myriad of challenges faced by refugee children have been addressed.

SOLUTION

Calm Quilt is designed for unaccompanied refugee children from the ages of 3 to 8, however, the intervention could bring about the same effects for children who are not necessarily refugees, but may suffer from similar challenges as these, such as shifts in environment due to natural disasters or past traumas. Similarly, the intervention could be used for older ages as well, where the blanket could grow with the child and become a special belonging which the child has an attachment to and would want to keep as they grow older.

Tags:
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Design Research
Design Anthropology
Child psychology
Material Research
Product Design

Team:
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Rhea Thomas
Marie Munzie
Maroa

Report︎︎︎

CONTEXT AND RESEARCH

Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict, or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country. They often have had to escape with little more than the clothes on their back, leaving behind homes, possessions, jobs, and loved ones. 'Every 5 seconds, a child is forced to flee.'These refugee children are at a risk of being killed, bombed, trafficked, falling prey to sexual abuse, being separated from their families, losing several years of education, or living as refugees for the rest of their life.

At the end of 2020, there were 82.4 million forcibly displaced people, a UNHCR, of which more than a quarter are refugees. World Bank warns that 'climate migrants' will be in the tens of millions in three decades even if urgent action is taken. Among them are nearly 26.4 million refugees, around half under 18.

Children have the right for a place of sanctuary and safety, but almost half of the thousands of refugee children arriving in Europe are unaccompanied and at risk of being abused and trafficked. We want refugee children to have a sense of belonging even though they have left everything behind.

THE INTERVENTION

The intervention, Calm Quilt, aims to elicit and facilitate desirable positive behaviour changes, and to improve the symptoms of the core stressors including lack of sleep through a product that facilitates a safe space that belongs to them, is customisable and is under their control whilst encouraging resilience with reciprocal care and a sense of connectedness using play with each other.

Calm Quilt is a design intervention for refugee children from the ages of three to seven. It comprises a small portable backpack which the children can easily carry around, and can be unfolded into a blanket with three different functionalities.

Calm Quilt can be opened up and laid onto the floor to create a space for the child to play. When placed on the floor the child can sit in a designated area, differentiated by a change in textured fabric that enables the child to easily play with the surrounding spaces on the blanket.

Furthermore, Calm Quilt can also be used as a blanket which can be wrapped around the child to bring them comfort. The seating area of the play mat is transformed into a hood which the child can put over their head and then wrap the remaining blanket around them. The hood of the blanket is made out of a soft fluffy material to provide comfort and extra warmth.

In addition, Calm Quilt can also be used as a sleeping bag, by using the zip which is placed on the outer rims of the blanket. The child can zip up the blanket and lie down inside their sleeping bag.

PROTOTYPING

The soft touch of the fabric brings in a feeling of tenderness and care, required by the unaccompanied minors
All-terrain/ rain-proof material like Gortex at the back, helps them during harsh weather conditions in the camps.