Themes by tag: children

Ivan and Iryna Umansky are a couple from the Kherson oblast. Before russia’s full-scale invasion, the family was raising four biological children and a boy named Bohdan, whom they had taken under their guardianship. Bohdan was the first child they welcomed into their family. Undeterred by his medical diagnosis, the Umanskys decided to give the boy a chance at a full life.

When the war began, the couple was in their hometown of Kakhovka, which remains under russian occupation. They moved from their home to a friend’s house to look after it. In August 2022, the head of social services, who was still cooperating with Ukrainian authorities, contacted the couple and asked if they could take in two girls from an orphanage.

The family took a risk: aside from birth certificates, the girls had no other documents. Later, Ivan bought a seven-seater, and the family decided to flee to Ukrainian-controlled territory. They had to pass through twenty russian checkpoints, and the journey took three days. The Umanskys eventually reached the Kyiv oblast, where they initially stayed in a family support center. They later lived in an apartment provided to them free of charge. In April 2024, they moved into a new house built as part of the “Address of Childhood” project by Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska’s Foundation. Today, Ivan and Iryna are raising ten children and have the status of a large foster family.

Journalists can speak with Ivan and Iryna Umansky online or in person by prior arrangement.

• children
• occupation
• Kyiv

On June 12, Kyiv will host a screening of Generation, a film by director Marisa Nikitiuk and the Voices of Children Foundation, followed by a discussion exploring the lives of a generation shaped by war. The event is titled “A Generation Growing Up in War: What Challenges Do Children Face Today and How Can We Support Them?”

Generation is a collaborative project between Nikitiuk and the Voices of Children Foundation that seeks to view the war through the eyes of its youngest witnesses and give them a voice to share their experiences. The film was created with 14 teenagers who faced evacuation, forced relocation within Ukraine and abroad, the loss of social connections, and the struggle to adapt to unfamiliar surroundings, all while enduring life under russian occupation or on the frontlines.

Over five months, the teens participated in the “Storytelling in Film with Elements of Art Therapy” lab, working alongside a psychologist and learning scriptwriting under Nikitiuk’s guidance. Through this process, they processed their experiences and transformed them into personal stories on screen.

Speakers:

– Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder and Chair of the Board of the Voices of Children Foundation;

– Marysia Nikitiuk, screenwriter and director;

– Children featured in the film Generation. 

Moderator: Olha Birzul, journalist, editor, cultural manager, film program developer and curator, writer.

Organizers: NGO Docudays and the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation.

• casualties
• children
• culture
• Kyiv

The Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, with the support and cooperation of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, is launching a camp program for children affected by the war. This is the second joint initiative aimed at supporting children aged 10 to 15 who have experienced the traumatic effects of war. It specifically targets children from internally displaced families, military families, and those living in frontline or de-occupied regions.

The 2025 season includes four sessions throughout the summer, each designed for 56 children. The first session of the Voices Camp started on June 5.

The Voices Camp includes four key areas:

• Creative activities: workshops in drawing, music, theater, and other arts;
• Sports: team competitions, quests, and active outdoor games;
• Psychological training:  workshops in self-awareness, emotional intelligence development, and psychological resilience;
• Intellectual training: financial simulations, intellectual games, and thematic quests.

• casualties
• children

The Voices of Children charitable foundation invites the public to witness the symbolic start of construction for the Childhood Center, a pioneering space in Ukraine dedicated to the psychological recovery of children and parents traumatized by war.

On June 5, the construction of the Childhood Center will be symbolically launched in the Kyiv oblast. The event will showcase what the center looks like from the children’s perspective and how it will look in a year. A collective message to future generations of children will be sealed in a “time capsule”.

Afterwards, a panel discussion titled “How to Save Childhood in War?” will take place. The discussion will feature the foundation’s co-founders, Olena Rozvadovska and Azad Safarov; Kateryna Rashevska, a human rights activist and expert from the Regional Center for Human Rights; Oleksandra Romantsova, a human rights activist and the executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties; Iryna Tuliakova, head of the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Upbringing and Child Care; Nataliia Masiak, a leading psychologist and psychiatrist; and children and families who are living through the difficult experience of war and undergoing recovery with the foundation.

Registration is required for the event.

• children
• Kyiv

On June 4, the Media Center Ukraine will host a briefing: “Defenseless in War. Ukrainian Children Enduring 11 Years of russian Aggression”

Participants:

– Olha Kuryshko, Permanent Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

– Oleksandra Dvoretska, Human Rights Activist, Head of Policy at the Bring Kids Back UA Initiative;

– Valentina Potapova, Head of Direction of National Advocacy at the Centre of Civil Education Almenda NGO;

– Leviza Dzhelyal, Public Activist, Wife of Former Political Prisoner Nariman Dzhelal;

– Alevtina Kakhidze, Ukrainian Performance and Media Artist.

Topics of focus:

– Life under occupation: Current conditions faced by children living in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhia oblasts, and Crimea.

– Children of political prisoners: Emotional and social impact on minors whose parents have been arrested or imprisoned, with a particular focus on stories from Crimean Tatar families.

– Militarization and indoctrination in Crimea: The ongoing transformation of education to serve russian propaganda narratives, including the militarization of school curricula and the role of organizations such as the Youth Army Movement.

For reference: June 4 marks the International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression, established by the UN General Assembly in 1982.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On June 5, a learning space will be opened in the shelter of one of the kindergartens in Mykolaiv.

Participants:

• savED Foundation (Anna Novosad, Anna Putsova);
• LEGO Foundation representatives;  
• MES (Oksen Lisovyi);
• Danish Embassy (Ole Egberg Mikkelsen, Jakob Torrild Hansen).

* Local educators, children, and parents.

Thanks to the LEGO Foundation’s support, the savED charitable foundation is completing the construction of modern, safe shelters at four kindergartens in Mykolaiv. Now, over a thousand local children will be able to study and develop their skills in a comfortable environment.

The shelters have been converted into spaces equipped with play areas and study zones for classes during air raid alerts. Children will also be able to sleep in special beds. The renovation of the shelters began in February 2025. Two locations have been completed, and two more are in the final stages.

The total renovated area is over 2,000 square meters. One of the renovated centers will be the largest underground educational space in the city. Two shelters will also serve as educational spaces for secondary school students.

Background: Over 130 kindergartens (one-third) in Mykolaiv oblast currently operate remotely, according to the Ministry of Education and Science. One of the reasons is the security factor and lack of equipped shelters in educational institutions.

• children
• Mykolaiv

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine will hold a press briefing on June 2 at Media Center Ukraine to present the results of the 2024/25 academic year.

Key topics:

– Interim outcomes of education sector investments: construction of shelters, procurement of school buses, improvements to canteens, and the development of science classrooms and STEM laboratories;

– Upcoming changes for high school students starting September 1;

– Ministry decisions regarding the education of children abroad and in temporarily occupied territories;
– Updates to curriculum content and textbooks;
– Strategic priorities of the Ministry for the 2025/26 academic year.

Speakers:

– Nadiia Kuzmychova, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine

– Andrii Stashkiv, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine

– Ihor Khvorostianyi, Head of the New Ukrainian School Implementation Office at the Ministry

Accreditation is required to attend the event.

• children
• Kyiv

The latest rescue operation has brought 11 more Ukrainian children back from russian-controlled areas, thanks to the continued efforts of the Save Ukraine team and the support of the President’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative. Among those brought home are two orphans, two children of Ukrainian service members, and a family torn apart by war for nearly four years.

Marharyta, a defender with the Azov Regiment, spent more than three years in russian captivity. Her eldest son, also a soldier, left the besieged Azovstal plant with her. They were sent to different penal colonies, and for a long time, Marharyta didn’t know if her son was still alive. By chance, she saw him during a prisoner exchange, on the same bus. But she still had one wish left: to reunite with her youngest daughter, who had remained an infant under occupation. That dream has now come true. The mother is finally with her children again, and still can’t believe it’s no longer just a dream.

Ostap hadn’t seen his father, a Ukrainian soldier, in three years. His older brother, who fought alongside their father, was captured and spent 1,111 days in detention. He is now undergoing rehabilitation. For the first time in three years, Ostap was able to embrace both of them.

Anatolii, an orphan, was abducted after discovering ammunition in the woods. He was taken straight from a classroom, soldiers burst into the principal’s office, put a bag over his head, tied his hands, and dragged him to a basement, where he was beaten. Just one week before his 18th birthday, he received a draft notice. No one even considered his right to education. The occupiers gave him only one choice: to join a specific military unit. Fortunately, he was able to contact Save Ukraine in time.

Interviews with Save Ukraine representatives are available upon prior arrangement.

The rescue operation was made possible through the support of partners #WeAreAllUkrainians, Humanity Foundation, Reload Love, and the Joint Center for the Coordination of the Search and Release of Prisoners of War and Persons Illegally Deprived of Liberty as a Result of Aggression Against Ukraine. To date, Save Ukraine has returned 659 children, including 145 orphans.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• evacuation

This weekend and into next week, WCK will begin distributing children fruit kits in celebration of the holiday, which is observed annually on June 1. A total of 8,300 kits will be delivered across Ukraine, from Lviv to Donetsk oblast.

Each kit includes apples, pears, oranges, grapefruits, kiwis, and a colorful, WCK-branded cup — a meaningful gift to remind children that they are remembered and cared for, even in times of hardship.

The kits will be distributed in the Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Khmelnytskyi, Kyiv, Lviv, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts.

Distributions will run for a week, starting May 30.

Journalists can cover the initiative by prior arrangement. Open deliveries will allow for photo and video coverage, as well as interviews with WCK teams and recipients. WCK will also provide high-quality photo and video materials for media use.

• children
• food

A group of students from Shpytky, a village in Bucha district, Kyiv region, is getting their hands on 3D printing to help restore their local environment. Calling themselves the Scythian team, the teenagers created a 3D printing club aimed at improving ecological conditions in their community. They plan to produce eco-bins using recycled plastic.

The students say their motivation came from witnessing the environmental impact of the war, Shpytky was on the front line during the russian invasion in 2022. The experience left the community heavily polluted, prompting the teens to take action.

Now, the team is actively collecting raw plastic materials and working hands-on with 3D printers to manufacture the eco waste tanks.

Journalists can visit the Scythian team’s workspace and cover the project by prior arrangement.

For reference: As part of the UActive program by the savED charitable foundation, teenagers from the Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Mykolaiv regions have been implementing social initiatives in communities affected by the war. The students completed a 15-week training course in project management and worked alongside mentors to develop their ideas. Through support from program partners, 10 student teams secured a total of USD 50,000 in seed funding to bring their projects to life.

A reminder: International Children’s Day is observed globally on June 1.

• children
• ecology
• Kyiv