Themes by tag: children

This year’s initiative, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the foundation’s establishment, focuses on how the children under the care of “Children of Heroes” formulate their dreams and imagine their own future.

Some dreams are familiar to all of us: Kira wants animals to be warm. And she dreams of becoming a star. Victoria sees herself as a financier. Sasha feels that her calling is psychology. And some no longer seem childish: Vanessa would like to bring back all those who have died. And for the war to end. Max thanks everyone who supports children and wants people to return from abroad. Vika talks about Ukraine’s victory and the need to study better. Yegor recalls spending time at the seaside with his dad and thanks his military mom for her care and support.

Children who have lost a parent during the war often grow up in prolonged instability: without a sense of support, with limited access to quality education, psychological support, and long-term opportunities. They grow up too quickly and take on responsibility, often not only for themselves but also for their loved ones.

By prior arrangement, journalists can receive comments on the results of four years of the foundation’s work and the challenges faced by children in Ukraine during the war.

For reference: The Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation provides long-term support to more than 15,600 children and 10,700 families. The foundation has delivered nearly 714 tons of humanitarian aid, implemented more than 1.2 million hours of educational programs, and conducted 35,000 hours of individual psychological counseling. Each program undergoes quality and impact assessment.

The foundation was established in March 2022 as a long-term organization to support children who have lost one or both parents due to the war. The Children of Heroes Charitable Foundation works systematically: psychological assistance and socialization, education and development, humanitarian and medical support, case management.

• children

The Academy of Care, in partnership with Daria Gerasymchuk, the President of Ukraine’s Advisor on Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, presents the fifth interactive Care Lesson for elementary school and preschool students. The theme for February is “I am NOT perfect!” — dedicated to accepting mistakes as superpowers and forming a healthy self-esteem in children. (Journalists are invited to an open Lesson of Care with the artist, which will take place on March 5 in Kyiv).

In wartime, children often experience excessive pressure and fear of failure, which increases anxiety. The lesson aims to shift the focus: to teach children to separate their value from the result and to perceive mistakes not as a reason for shame, but as an important cue for growth.

The plot centers on children’s favorite character Pascal the Cat and a new heroine, Milka-Pomilka from the city of Khalepyansk. Together, they will prove that even the most resounding failure can be the beginning of an amazing experience.

What awaits participants:

• Watching the cartoon “Pascal and Milka-Pomilka”: a story about how the main character was ashamed of his mistake until he realized that it came to his aid.
• Crossword presentation “The Benefits of Mistakes”: an exercise that transforms negative associations (fear, shame) into positive assets: experience, knowledge, and creativity.
• Exercise “Normal or Weird”: a quick game where children learn to distinguish between a healthy reaction to a mistake and self-flagellation.
• Game “Harmful Poems”: practical training in “the ability to make mistakes,” where children and the teacher deliberately make funny mistakes in rhymes to relieve tension and fear of failure.
• Failure celebration: a final exercise where students and the teacher share their mistakes, and the whole class supports them with the exclamation “That’s cool!”.

For reference: The initiative is implemented by the NGO “Opportunities. Motivation. Media.” (Academy of Care) in cooperation with MaPanda and in partnership with Daria Gerasymchuk, Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Children’s Rights and Rehabilitation, as part of the project “Gender Sensitive Approaches to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Ukraine,” which is being implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH with funding from the German government.

• children
• Kyiv

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