Ludde is a character and educational material originally created in Switzerland to help adults talk to children about alcohol in a child-friendly way.
Heart-driven members of Movendi International at Junis translated Ludde into Swedish to roll out the program across Sweden to help more children across the country. Ludde makes it easy for adults, such as teachers, to talk to children about what it might be like to have a parent who has an alcohol problem or to come from a household with alcohol problems.
Now Ludde has been adopted in Slovakia. With the help of Movendi International President Kristina Sperkova, the Ludde material was translated to Slovak, so that more children in Slovakia can be helped to overcome their struggles with parental alcohol problems.
In Slovakia, the dog and program are called Happy.
I think it is important that children at an early age learn to understand the alcohol problems they may experience at home,” said Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International and national president of Movendi SK, as per Accent.
The Happy program allows kids to engage in the topic in a child-friendly way. With Happy we can help them understand that it is not their fault – and that there are people they can trust and talk with.
Happy gives children space to understand their feelings and to understand other children and to find solutions.”
Kristina Sperkova, International President, Movendi International and national president, Movendi SK
Junis is the children’s organization of IOGT-NTO and a member organization of Movendi International. Mona Örjes, the chairperson of Junis has held the trainings for Swedish educators on how to work with Ludde.
When Ludde was adopted in Slovakia she held a training for teachers that Movendi SK is training to better identify and help children of households with alcohol problems (CoHAP).
It feels great that we can train educators in Slovakia who are passionate about this, so that the material can be spread,” said Mona Örjes, the chairperson of Junis, as per Accent.
We know that in every single class and preschool group there is someone who gets hurt due to alcohol problems in the household they grow up in. And then this material is needed. This method makes it easier to find those children and to help them without being single-minded or judgmental.”
Mona Örjes, chairperson of the Junis Union
