Organizers of the String Civic Association
DiS. Mia Magenheimová
provazek@provazek.org 
The chairwoman of the civic association and the co-ordinator of projects; the
founder of the String civic association.
She studied journalism and social pedagogy and theology at JABOK school in Prague. She worked as a volunteer in the Sue Ryder foundation hospice in England, then as an independent journalist and tutor in children's homes during holidays.
Mia Magenheimová closely cooperated with Tereza Maxova
Foundation from 2001 to 2006. In the first two years of this cooperation, she
organized the implementation of a special project – the Research of
Institutional Care in the Czech Republic. She visited almost all infant and
children's homes in the Czech Republic as well as many half-way homes,
pedagogical institutions, diagnostic institutions, special boarding-houses,
children's centers and asylums with social care (and other institutions for
abandoned children) to examine this topic and to provide a targeted help to
specific children and specific institutions.
Mia Magenheimová established an Open Arms volunteer project
with to support of the Eurotel Foundation and the Tereza Maxova Foundation,
within the OS Člověk hledá člověka civic association. Originally, the
project included twenty volunteers who would visit a children's home with
children up to the age of 3 in As. Since that time the project has visited the
total of eight children's homes with several hundred children; more than
700 volunteers arrived to help them. After the careful selection and schooling,
the voluteers help the children in asylum care change their uneasy destiny and
reduce the psychic deprivation by a simple human touch.
Mia Magenheimová established her own Provázek (String)
Foundation and the the Open Arms project was implemented there. The Tereza
Maxova Foundation has substantially sponsored this project.
Mgr. Pavel Provazník
THe co-founder and member of the Management Board of the String civic association; the first volunteer in the Open Arms Project; a teacher of philosophy, ethics and religion; the ex-consultant of Safety Line.
Mgr. Markéta Švecová
A graduate of the Faculty of Humanities of the Charles University. She has spent a few months in England as an au pair and helped in a summer camp focused on arts and creative work. She is a private teacher of English. She helps with English translations for Provazek. She is the coordinator of the Open Arms project for the Children’s Home in Milovice and the Children's Home in Kasperske Hory. She is the co-ordinator of the Little Clown project.
Mgr. Bohdana Theodora Hybšová
After graduation from the Pedagogical Faculty of the Charles University in
Prague, specialization in music and psychology, she studied music, various forms
and traditions of dancing and motion and music therapy in New York for three
years. She worked as an assistant at the Music therapy clinics at the University
of New York.
After her return from the Western hemisphere, she has travelled to the East and studied what is known as „therapy“ of the eastern countries or better to say the inner power and spiritual depth which can be discovered in music, our voice, motion and dancing, in yoga and mainly in ourselves. Bohdana is interested in the linking of music with dancing and the way how they are used as educational, therapeutical and powerful tools and also how they can help with a deeper self-recognition. On her way to herself during her work with voice and body in motion and dancing she uses the knowledge of many spiritual ways and principals of the yoga which can be linked very well with singing and dancing; its gentle but deep power can be used as well. She has gained experience from her studies and cooperation with artists, therapists and teachers from the West as well as the East.
Bohdana is a music therapist in the Healing Arms Project.
Bc. Petra Milsimerova
petra.milsimerova@provazek.org
A student of the Faculty of Humanities at Charles University and the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University. She has organised several volunteer events for children living in children's homes, for example a Christmas creative workshop, horseriding days, etc. She used to be a volunteer and coordinator of volunteers in international volunteer projects focusing on hippo-therapy for disabled children. She has experience as a leader of summer camps for children. She underwent a certified program: Specialist on Games and Communication in Institutional and Home Care. She worked as a class assistant at primary school. She teaches English to small children. She used to be a volunteer of the Five P program. She has been horseriding and taking care of horses since 1996. She is interested in hippo-therapy and participates in seminars focused on this issue. She is the coordinator of the Healing Arms project and arranges horses for the children's homes in Milovice and Kamenice nad Lipou.
Horse Laik
He is 11 years old
and is calm but full of good spirit and of sufficient energy that can give
children from children's homes a feeling that he can emphatise with them and
listens to them.
Laik comes from the foothills of Krkonoše; he has been staying in Prague and in the region of Central Bohemia for 7 years. He could have become successful in racing, in jumps as well as dressage. He has even participated in several races and he has done really well. He'd rather spend time by running in a horse pen, eating juicy grass and delicious hay or riding long trips to woods with his horseman and coordinator Petra. He also enjoys carrying children. When a child sits on him, he recognizes it immediately, calms down and is very careful not to hurt anyone. When he was in a camp with children who had spent a lot of time in Czech hospitals while their illnesses were being cured, he was very considerate and patient with all children and responded to their expressions of enthusiasm and joy; it was also obvious that Laik tried to support the kids when they felt scared or upset. Laik Likes the most when he is given a piece of sweet apple or carrot, a stroke or when he can rest in a horse pen or stables.
Laik accompanies children from infant homes in the Healing Arms Project.
Veronika Bucharová
volunteer of OS Provazek since the very beginning of its projects. Sponsor, author and organizer of many small projects that have not been mentioned here.
Tereza Pipková
a clerk
Canis (dog) therapy
Canistherapy in the Children´s Home Milovice
Ester Hlinková with her Jerry (Bolone´s dog)
Canistherapy in the Children´s Home Broumov
Hana Böhmová with her Kamilka and Maja (Chihuahua)
http://www.handabear.estranky.cz/
We can bring canistherapy to the children thanks to Dibaq, a.s. www.dibaq.cz
