WISH SYMBOL OF OUR COMMITMENT

With the Wish Journey we want to keep the wish child engaged the entire process, and sometimes can take long. That's why we decide to make sure that each wish children receive the Wish Coin, as a symbol, contributes to strengthen the positive experience for the wish child. Therefore, it helps build resilience (see psychological principles in the Wish Journey General Overview section).

The symbol does NOT represent a specific wish; it is the symbol of our commitment to grant A WISH. Therefore, it is very important we give the symbol as soon as possible. The best moment would be at the beginning of the visit before you start the capture phase of the Wish Journey.

It’s a reminder to the wish children that they will receive their very own cherished wish. It’s a great form of anticipation and it gets them thinking about what their wish could be.

THE “WHAT” AND “WHY” OF A ONE-TRUE-WISH

Traditionally, the emphasis has been on organizing the wish delivery, and less on the part that is focused on capturing the wish. We recognize that identifying the most cherished wish is perhaps the most important part of the wish process. Identifying and comparing the difference between the “what” and “why” of a child’s wish is a very important part of the wish capture.

For example, if a child expresses that they “wish to fly” and you don’t focus on the HOW stage immediately, you will not learn that this child doesn’t want to fly on a plane, but actually wants to fly like a superhero.

WHEN LOOKING AT THE “WHY” OF THE WISH, A GOOD DESCRIPTION OF THE WISH:

• “I wish to go to Disneyland” turns into “I wish to hug Mickey Mouse”

• “I wish to have a laptop” turns into “I wish to stay in touch with my friends”

• “I wish to go to Ibiza” turns into “I wish to feel the sun on my skin”

• “I wish to be a princess” turns into “I wish to sleep in a castle with my friends and wear a pink dress all

day”

THIS “NEW WAY OF WISH CAPTURE” MEANS WE WILL HAVE SOME SHIFTS IN THE CAPTURE PHASE:

From:

Capture with speed (focus on fast, one visit)

To:

Capture as a “stage” takes some time – as long as the child is positively engaged. Allows time to get to know the child (possibly more than one visit)

From:

An interview (left brain, adult-like process)

To:

Use of creative exploration tools to help expand and explore – rich content is captured – stories, pictures, and videos

From:

Role of volunteers is to capture and fill out a home visit report/form

To:

Role of volunteers is to facilitate an exploration of discovery to uncover the cherished wish

From:

Wish is communicated as a type/category (i.e. to go, to be, to meet, etc.), such as “I wish to have a treehouse”

To:

Wish is communicated in the words of the child “I wish more than anything for a treehouse with a purple door, a yellow pulley bucket and polka dot curtains to play with my sister all day long”

From:

Celebrating “eligibility”

To:

Making a promise that together we will make wishes come true (wish symbol) – more positive brain connections built

From:

A similar type of wish (or wish category)

To:

More diversity in types of wishes

Wish Capture – Documents and Exercises