Themes by tag: children

Sarah, a U.S. citizen, has been living and working in Kyiv for the past year and a half. She joined the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation, which assists war-affected children. Sarah mainly focuses on humanitarian issues.

Sarah first visited Ukraine as a teenager, both as a tourist and as a humanitarian worker. During the full-scale war in 2022, she volunteered for two months across Ukraine, providing aid on the ground. After earning her university degree in 2023, she returned and chose to settle in Kyiv. She finds inspiration in exploring new cities, especially near the front lines, where she feels life’s meaning most deeply.

Journalists can meet and speak with Sarah in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• children
• women
• Kyiv

On February 26, the premiere of a film created by 14 teenagers during the “Storytelling in Cinema” course of the Voices of Children Foundation and Ukrainian director Marysia Nikitiuk will take place in Kyiv.

The event will also include a discussion on “Growing up in war: how to help children cope with this difficult experience” with the participation of the children who worked on the movie, the director Marysia Nikitiuk, Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children Foundation and human rights activist, Olha Aivazovska, Chairperson of the Board of the Civil Network OPORA, and Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of the Center for Civil Rights and Nobel Laureate.

The film “Generation” was created by young people from all over Ukraine who have experienced the hardships of war: evacuation, forced displacement within Ukraine and abroad, finding themselves in a new place, losing social ties, living under occupation, and surviving in frontline regions.

As part of Voices of Children’s “Storytelling in Cinema” project, director Marysia Nikitiuk and psychologist Dariia Parshyntseva met with the teens for five months to develop scripts. The course culminated in seven days of filmmaking in the mountains, where the young participants brought their stories to life.

Registration required

Background: Voices of Children Foundation provides psychological, psychosocial and humanitarian support to children and families affected by war. The Foundation helps children cope with the psychological effects of armed conflict and advocates for their rights.

The International Center for Ukrainian Victory (ICUV) is a public diplomacy platform founded in Warsaw by Ukrainian civil society activists to engage global thought leaders in support of Ukraine. The Center’s mission is to mobilize the world for Ukraine’s victory.

• casualties
• children
• culture
• Kyiv

13-year-old Ukrainian Yana Stepanenko, who lost both her legs in a rocket attack on the Kramatorsk railway station in 2022, will run in the Tokyo Marathon on March 1, following her triumph in Boston last year. Media representatives are invited to attend her open training session in Lviv on February 19.

In Japan, Yana will run 5 kilometers on running prostheses to raise funds for two sports prostheses for Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Zhavnenko, who lost both legs on the front line. Oleksandr dreams of returning to an active lifestyle – playing sports, running and dancing. He was a dancer before the war, and his greatest wish is to return to the dance floor and waltz with his wife again.

Media accreditation is required for this event.

Background: In 2024, Yana completed a 5K run in the Boston Marathon and successfully raised funds for a sports prosthesis for Ukrainian soldier Oleksandr Riasnyi.

On April 8, 2022, Yana Stepanenko lost both her legs as a result of a terrorist attack by russian forces on the railway station in Kramatorsk. A photo of her being carried in the arms of a surgeon from the First Medical Association of St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv went around the world.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Lviv

Your Support family center for mental health was established last year in Ukraine’s Kyiv region with a mission to help children and their families cope with the psychological effects of war. The center focuses on strengthening emotional resilience and ensuring the healthy development of each child.

A team of psychologists, special education experts, neuropsychologists, lawyers, and employment specialists provides all services free of charge. In just over a year, the center’s experts have offered more than 6,000 consultations. Among those they have helped is a 6-year-old boy who stopped speaking after experiencing shell shock, and a mother raising her 7-year-old son alone, whose child, under immense stress, lost control of his body.

Support is available both online and in person by appointment, allowing families to connect with specialists and others who have benefited from the center’s assistance.

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

On February 23, an international charity race will take place to mark the third anniversary of the full-blown war and raise funds for the children who lost one or both parents due to the russian invasion of Ukraine. The goal is to raise 50,000 EUR to provide psychological support for children who have lost their parents to the war.

The event will be held in several cities, including Kyiv, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Krakow, Porto, Rotterdam, Stockholm, and Funchal.

For reference: The event is organized by the Ukrainian Running Club and the Children of Heroes Foundation.

• children
• Kyiv

Twelve children who endured the horrors of russian occupation were rescued last week through the President’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative, with critical support from Save Ukraine.

Among those brought back from the occupied territories are boys and girls between the ages of 8 and 17. In some cases, children were sent to camps near Moscow under the pretense of a short stay, only to be subjected to indoctrination about the so-called “russian world” and introduced to their so-called “new homeland.” One child narrowly escaped being taken by a neighbor collaborating with the occupation authorities, who attempted to place her in the russian child welfare system. Fearing for their safety, the girl and her father hid in their own home to evade capture. Another rescued boy, despite being underage, had already received a draft notice for military service in the russian army. 

russian forces continue to block families from leaving occupied territories, use children as human shields, and turn schools into propaganda tools.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• evacuation

A second underground school has opened in Kharkiv, already accommodating 750 students. Once the second phase of construction is completed, the school is expected to host nearly 1,000 students. It currently serves children finishing primary school — many of whom are meeting face-to-face for the first time. The COVID-19 pandemic, followed by russia’s full-scale invasion, deprived them of the opportunity for normal in-person learning.

In addition to classrooms, the underground school has inclusive and resource rooms to support students with different needs.

Background: Due to constant russian shelling, children in Kharkiv began studying in the city’s metro stations in September 2023, when several stations were converted into makeshift classrooms. In May 2024, Kharkiv opened its first underground school, which has 20 classrooms and provides education for 600 students.

• children
• Kharkiv

Seventeen-year-old Radomyr Tiutiunnyk is the son of a soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At the start of the full-scale invasion, his father told him that drones, especially FPV drones, were one of the critical needs for Ukrainian defenders on the front lines. Radomyr decided to help his father and tried to build them himself.

He found all the necessary information on the Internet. His first “birds” successfully passed tests, and Radomyr began assembling drones on a regular basis. At first, he worked on drones in his spare time after school. Now he has formed a team that produces more than 1,000 units a month. Volunteers print the parts for the FPV drones on a 3D printer. Over the course of his work, Radomyr has delivered about 15,000 FPV drones to the front lines.

You can contact Radomyr Tiutiunnyk online or in person in Odesa by prior arrangement.

• children
• volunteers
• Odesa

Pylyp Dukhliy is a veteran of the russo-Ukrainian war and the founder of a private school where children study programming, robotics, 2D and 3D modeling in addition to general education subjects.

After February 24, 2022, Pylyp evacuated his family to the West, while he joined the Defense Forces. His mission was to organize communication between positions. Pylyp says that during his service he faced several life-threatening situations and now counts four additional “birthdays”.

After being discharged, Pylyp returned to work at the school in Kyiv. Currently, high school students there are assembling and building FPV drones for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The students enjoy the process as it allows them to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. They have a modern workshop equipped for design, prototyping and soldering. The workshop also has a laser cutter and a 3D printer.

The students’ drones can carry up to two kilograms, travel at least five kilometers, and stay airborne for over twenty minutes.

• children
• Kyiv

The United States recently hosted the debut of  “Through the Eyes of Children”, a powerful collection of children’s quotes published by HarperCollins Publishers, one of the world’s most renowned publishing houses.  

Originally published in February 2023 by the “Voices of Children” Charitable Foundation, the book aims to draw global attention to the hardships faced by children as a result of russia’s war against Ukraine. Within just three months of its release, HarperCollins Publishers expressed interest and secured the rights to publish the book in the U.S. and worldwide. 

The U.S. book tour took place from December 8 to 14, with events in three cities: New York, Washington, D.C., and New Haven. A signed copy of the book by Tania Vovk was also presented to Timothy Snyder, a Yale professor and a devoted friend of Ukraine. 

The centerpiece of the tour was the presentation of “War Through the Eyes of Ukrainian Children: An Evening of Stories, Discussion, and Reflection”, held on December 13 in New York at the Ukrainian Institute of America, with support from the Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the United Nations. 

Among other things, the voices of Ukrainian children, with the support of Rebirth.Ukraine, resonated in the legendary Times Square. 

Journalists can access further details about the book launch in the United States, along with accompanying photos and videos.

• children
• culture
• Kyiv