Social relationships
Most of the places that the children have selected where defined by their social dimension. Maps and narratives were studded with houses of relatives and friends, marked as safe landmarks within their neighborhoods. Spending time with friends and family was evidenced as an important factor in enhancing their well-being and life satisfaction. The value of supportive relationships amongst friends and families was explicitly connected to their ability to better manage periods of distress. Similarly, sharing feelings and thoughts with peers emerged as a common strategy used by children to reduce their feelings of isolation and to find ways of foreseeing the different possible scenarios of their insecure environment.
“We share why we are scared. Like when they came to take my uncle, my friend Jane helped me to feel better. She explained me what happened to her brother before and she made me less scared. (Fasayel, 12, female).
In addition, children described the importance of perceiving an environment characterized by strong sentimental bonds between residents, where people take strong care of each other. When this connectedness with family and community was missing, children expressed a feeling of vulnerability, thereby limiting their opportunity of movement and their capacity for action.