Through a workshop “Swimming into the Future,” SMART aimed to not only provide a new skill, but also to create a bond between the participants. Swimming has been used for confidence building and for getting comfortable with one’s own body in different societies and it was sought to be replicated here too.

For children who are often ignored in the process of dealing with violent extremism. Swimming was an innovative tool to deal with trauma. It was a creative way to help the children release their emotions. Besides swimming for mothers and daughters, opportunities to express and emote their feelings through drawings was another tool for overcoming their trauma. The art work provided an eye-opening insight into what they were going through. The excitement of the children was difficult to contain and their feedback was heartening..