Themes by tag: children

Participants:

– Kyrylo Nevdokha, Head of the DIiMO Office at the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine;

– Iryna Yeremenko, National Consultant, UNICEF Ukraine;

– Olena Shulyak, Member of Parliament of Ukraine;

– Vitaliy Bodnya, Leading Specialist, Youth Center Development Department, State Institution “All-Ukrainian Youth Center”

Key topics:

– Presentation of the guidebook “How to involve children and young people with life experience in decisions that affect them”;

– Changes at the state policy level to enable young people to influence decision-making;

– Practical examples of real youth involvement in decision-making.

• children
• Kyiv

On May 8, 2022, Maryna Aleksiuk, a repair workshop technician of an anti-aircraft missile division, was killed at Azovstal. She had been defending Ukraine since 2015. Her daughters — 14-year-old Olena and 11-year-old Oleksandra — were left without their mother.

Mykola Ivanchenko has been fighting since 2014, when russia first launched its aggression against Ukraine, serving in the “Azov” regiment.

He met Maryna in December 2018. Both were divorced at the time. When they began living together, Maryna’s daughters did not immediately accept him. Over time, however, he earned their trust.

The family initially lived in Mariupol and moved to Berdiansk in the Zaporizhzhia region in 2021. That is where the full-scale war found them.

On February 24, 2022, Maryna left for Azovstal with her unit as part of the “Azov” regiment. Mykola arranged with his command to remain in Berdiansk with the children, waiting for his wife’s return. When russian forces occupied the city, he and the girls spent a month under occupation. Only by a miracle were they able to safely evacuate to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

After receiving news of Maryna’s death, Mykola took Olena and Oleksandra under his guardianship. They now live together in the Kyiv region. The girls are in the 9th and 6th grades. Olena is interested in Korean culture and music, while Oleksandra enjoys painting by numbers.

Journalists can access Mykola’s full story and schedule an interview with him.

• children
• dead
• military

The Academy of Care, together with NPC “Ukrenergo,” has launched a special initiative for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026 (World Children’s Mental Health Week 2026).

When it is dark and cold outside and power outage schedules become part of everyday life, it is especially important for children to feel that their “place” within the family remains a territory of warmth and safety. The goal of this year’s initiative is to provide families with a unique set of practical tools for “generating” warmth at home — tools that help preserve inner energy and emotional connection even during blackouts.

Format: a three-way meeting (child – adult – psychologist) via the MaPanda app. In real time, the psychologist operates the animated character Cat Pascal, creating the magic of live interaction. As a character with his own story of overcoming challenges, Cat Pascal becomes a “safe Other” for the child. Through this playful bridge, young psychologists help families tune their “mental tuning fork” of trust and safety. This is not just a session — it is the shared creation of a family story about how, even in a changing world, there is a place that truly belongs to them, where safety remains a constant.

The project will reach 700 families with children aged 6 to 9. Each family will receive a unique set of tools for “generating” warmth at home.

By prior arrangement, journalists may speak with the psychologist and founder of the “Academy of Care,” Anastasiia Svoboda, as well as, if possible, with participating families (parents and children) who have joined the initiative.

For reference: The initiative is implemented by the NGO “Opportunities. Motivation. Media.” (Academy of Care) in cooperation with MaPanda and in partnership with the Advisor–Commissioner of the President of Ukraine for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation, Daria Herasymchuk, within the project “Gender-sensitive approaches to mental health and psychosocial support in Ukraine,” implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with funding from the Government of Germany.

• blackout
• children
• psychological support

To mark the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, the charitable foundation “Voices of Children” is organizing an exhibition dedicated to children’s resilience and recovery in times of war. The central part of the exhibition “Thread: Transformation instead of brokenness” features portraits of 14 children accompanied by brief stories about their lives. Some of them have lost their homes and familiar way of life. Others have endured events that changed them forever. The exhibition will open on February 19 in Kyiv.

The exhibition does not aim to demonstrate a generation’s brokenness — quite the opposite. Although war leaves marks that become engraved in our experience, transformation is not equal to weakness and does not mean destruction. What has been endured can become the foundation for something new — far stronger than before. This journey is what the exhibition “Thread” is about.

The photographs for the project were created by Marta Syrko, a portrait artist whose works have been presented at international exhibitions. In 2025, Forbes included Marta in its list 10 Women Preserving and Shaping Ukrainian Art and Culture.

Following the official opening, a panel discussion titled “Transformation instead of brokenness” will take place. The discussion will bring together professionals who work with children, defend their rights, and have themselves undergone transformation. Most importantly, the project’s young protagonists will also participate.

Among the participants and speakers:

– the project’s protagonists — teenagers Liza from Oleshky and Maks from Kharkiv;
– volunteer and founder of the “Birds” project, Tata Kepler;
– lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights, Kateryna Rashevska;
– co-founder of the charitable foundation “Voices of Children,” Olena Rozvadovska;
– foundation psychologist, Sofiia Stetsenko.

Journalists are required to register for the event in advance.

• children
• culture
• Kyiv

Today, many educational centers are forced to reduce their working hours or even close entirely due to power outages. Schools and lyceums have limited backup power capacity, which means the stable operation of these spaces depends on their energy independence.

savED aims to make its centers self-sufficient. In some communities, partners have already helped provide lighting and energy solutions. However, in 60 out of 128 centers, the need remains critical. The goal is to enable these spaces to operate independently of the main power grid so that children do not lose access to education.

To address this, savED has developed four flexible solutions tailored to the specific needs and urgency of each community. The organization has launched a fundraising campaign to provide charging stations and LED equipment for educational centers.

By prior arrangement, journalists are welcome to cover the work of educational centers operating during power outages.

For reference: Educational centers are spaces where children can continue learning and meeting offline, even if their school has been destroyed, damaged, or cannot operate fully due to proximity to the front line. These spaces are equipped with everything necessary for a comfortable and safe stay throughout the day, including furniture, modern equipment, and learning materials for both students and teachers. In many communities, these centers became a form of “rapid educational response”: in some settlements, they were established within the first months after de-occupation and helped restore educational activities in affected areas.

• blackout
• children

Participants:

– Kateryna Rashevska, PhD in International Law, Expert at the Regional Center for Human Rights.

Key topics:

– The current situation regarding the return of Ukrainian children stolen by russia: statistics and achievements;

– How has the process of returning Ukrainian children changed today?

– Who is involved in returning Ukrainian children from russia today and how?

• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

A heartwarming video circulating online captures Father Andriy, a priest at the Patriarchal Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ, the main cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Kyiv, playing soccer with children at a daytime camp set up on the church grounds.

With schools shut down through the extended winter break amid relentless power cuts and unheated classrooms, the church camp has become a crucial haven for kids aged 6 to 14 over the past two weeks. Organizers are running master classes and music-therapy sessions, while personnel from the State Emergency Service, police officers, and psychologists drop by to chat with the children and lend whatever support they can.

Adjacent to the camp, the church operates a “Space of Light and Warmth” equipped with a power generator where people can charge their electronic devices. The facility also serves as a round-the-clock shelter.

Journalists interested in speaking with Father Andriy or reporting on the camp’s activities are welcome to reach out.

• blackout
• children
• religion
• Kyiv

On February 3, a screening and discussion of the documentary film “Fight and Dance” will be held in the capital. The film is about strength, pain, and hope. It is about childhood under the air raid sirens. It is about living — despite the war.

In April 2025, russian forces fired two Iskander missiles into the center of Sumy. Viktoriia Rudyka was riding scooters with her daughters when the blast wave hit them. After undergoing treatment and losing their father in the war, the family chose to stay in Sumy. The girls returned to ballet, and Viktoriia plans to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On the same day, 13-year-old Kyrylo Illiashenko opened the door of a burning bus and rescued his mother and the other passengers. A month later, he won a silver medal at the European Beach Wrestling Championships.

After the screening, there will be a conversation with the people who lived and created this story:

• Hanna Mamontova and Anna Tsyhyma, the film’s authors;
• Viktoriia Rudykha, a protagonist in the film;
• Kyrylo Illiashenko, a protagonist in the film.

Moderator: Natalka Humeniuk, executive director of the Public Interest Journalism Lab.

Advance registration is required.

The event will feature photography and filming, as well as a live online broadcast on the Maidan Museum Information and Exhibition Center’s Facebook page.

For reference: The event is organized by the National Museum of the Revolution of Dignity and the Public Interest Journalism Lab NGO.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation has been installing solar stations free of charge for hospitals, water utilities, and schools. To date, hybrid solar stations have been installed in 13 educational institutions across various regions of Ukraine, enabling students to attend in-person classes even during nationwide mass power outages.

During air raid alerts, students take shelter in bunkers equipped with light and warmth, thanks to the operation of the solar stations. The schools also function as resilience points and shelters for all community residents during emergencies.

Journalists can obtain online comments from the Energy Act for Ukraine Foundation about the solar stations’ operation (covering topics such as cost savings, capabilities, and environmental benefits). Offline coverage of real-life stories about the operation of the solar stations in schools is also possible.

• blackout
• children

At 18, she has already endured what many adults never face. When russian forces seized Oleshky in Ukraine’s Kherson region in 2022, she was just fourteen. Her family survived the first months of the occupation in the basement of their home – without electricity, gas, or heat.

This week, Liza boarded a plane for the first time and traveled to the Netherlands to address the 24th session of the Assembly of States Parties (ASP) to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). She spoke about what it means to grow up under russian control and the toll the war continues to take on children in occupied areas.

“I am not standing here today to elicit sympathy,” she said in her remarks. “I am here to be heard, so that people know what is happening to children in the occupied territories right now.”

Liza now lives in Kyiv, where she is studying psychology and working to help support her mother and younger sister. Still, her thoughts often drift back to Oleshky. She dreams of her neighborhood almost every night. Specialists from the Voices of Children Foundation are working with her to help her process those memories and begin to heal.

Journalists can arrange interviews with Liza in Kyiv by prior request.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv