Successful Completion: New Therapeutic Spaces Completed at Valmiera SOS Children’s Village

Two new therapy rooms have been installed at the Valmiera SOS Children’s Village in Latvia. The project was implemented with the support of the Fenix Charity Fund, a growing charitable organization working across the Baltic States, in collaboration with the community program “Ieklausies – Sadzirdi – Atbalsti”, organized by Eņģeļi Tev Blakus, a Latvian charity association that promotes support for welfare centers and foster families. The total cost of the project was €6,217, fully funded through private donations.

The new spaces include a Music Therapy Room and a Nature Aesthetics Studio; both are designed to support the emotional and developmental needs of children living in family-based care. The Music Therapy Room offers a structured yet creative environment where children can express themselves, develop communication skills, and process emotions – all through sounds and rhythms. The Nature Aesthetics Studio encourages children’s sensory engagement, imagination, and emotional regulation by connecting them with natural and calming materials and surroundings.

Benefits of the Music Therapy Studio
By attending sessions in the Music Therapy Studio, children’s social problems are addressed, and their psycho-emotional and physical health is improved. The sessions are led by a music therapist, a healthcare professional with a master’s degree in health care and relevant competence in both music and psychological support. Music therapy can be beneficial for children of any age with mental health disorders, psychosomatic illnesses, and vegetative dystonia. It helps overcome emotional difficulties, low mood, nervousness, and anxiety.

Music therapy is also suitable for personal growth — to develop leadership or cooperation skills, a sense of independence, imagination, structured thinking, multitasking abilities, organization, or to emotionally process certain experiences.

Benefits of the Nature Aesthetics Room
Nature Aesthetics is a system that enhances a person’s emotional and cognitive experience, based on the activation of the aesthetic values of the natural environment and a specific methodology. In the Nature Aesthetics Studio, children have the opportunity to explore and learn various aspects of nature aesthetics. The fields of Nature Aesthetics include nature movement and shape games, colorful sand games, colored grain games, and warm sand sessions.

Nature Aesthetics sessions promote and provide: interaction experience, which is especially important for children with functional impairments and learning and concentration difficulties; emotional and self-exploration experience, which allows them to discover the limits of their abilities, helps to become aware of and appropriately manage emotions, and also reduces physical and psychological tension; and creative activity experience, which develops imagination, associative thinking, and stimulates cognitive processes.

“It is important to us to create an environment where children can feel safe, heard, and accepted. The Music Therapy and Nature Aesthetics Studios at the Valmiera SOS Family Support Center are a significant step in strengthening children’s emotional and social well-being. These spaces help children not only overcome difficulties but also discover their potential, develop creativity, and build positive relationships with the world around them. We are grateful to everyone who supported this initiative and helped turn this dream into reality,” says Ilze Paleja, Director of the SOS Children’s Villages Association Latvia.

On average, 85 children and 13 adults receive services from the Valmiera SOS Family Support Center each month (the adults are employees of the Valmiera SOS Children’s Village who work with children on a daily basis). Currently, one child is attending music therapy sessions, but it should be noted that the room has only just been set up. Initially, it is planned that Nature Aesthetics Studio sessions will be attended by eight children per month, but it appears that the number of children will increase in the future.

The project in Valmiera, supported by the Fenix Charity Fund, is part of a broader initiative to improve conditions for children and families in SOS Children’s Villages across Latvia. As part of this wider effort, other organizations raised funds for the Islīce SOS Children’s Village to rebuild the porches of 12 homes to enhance safety for children and foster parents. In Riga, funds were raised and allocated to the renovation of two rooms at the SOS Family Support Center to create a more welcoming and functional space for families in crisis, including new soft furnishings, lighting, and wall finishes.

“We believe that supporting a child’s emotional and creative development is just as important as meeting their basic needs, especially long-term,” said Santa Laizane, Director of the Fenix Charity Fund. “These two rooms represent more than just physical spaces – these are safe environments where children can feel heard, seen, and supported in ways that will impact them for life. We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone who supported this project financially and physically. We are extremely proud to see the successful completion of this project”.

This initiative is another big step in the Fenix Charity Fund’s mission to support and empower vulnerable children and strengthen family-based care in the region. The organization continues to work with local partners and donors to bring practical, sustainable, high-impact solutions where they are needed most.