Themes by tag: children

“Community-Ridni” House was opened in Lviv. It is a unique space for orphans and children deprived of parental care. 20 students aged 16 to 23 will live there (including refugees). Teenagers will receive free, comfortable housing, they will receive help to get themselves ready for an independent life and fulfill their potential.

This place was created by the Children’s Service Department of the Lviv City Council together with “Ridni” Charity Fund. This is a municipal institution working in the format of a small group home with a special program that has no analogues in Ukraine.

“Community-Ridni” House will feature lessons on financial literacy and sessions with psychologists and coaches. There is a library, a study space and a gym. At this time, 5 students already live there. 13 specialists work with them, including social workers, psychologists, a doctor, a cook, an accountant, and a lawyer.

Journalists are welcome to learn more about the space and cover its operation.

• children
• Lviv

Kateryna Hidzula is a mother of three and an entrepreneur from Khmelnytskyi. Three years ago, Kateryna started a hub for women. The main mission of the hub is to provide women with the opportunity for self-realization. Kateryna and her team deliver training sessions for the hub’s visitors. In particular, she gives the essential knowledge to run your own business.

When the full-scale war broke out, Kateryna started supporting displaced women with children. In April 2022, the Free Mom children’s space, launched with funding from the Ukrainian Women’s Fund, opened its doors in Khmelnytskyi. In the kid’s space, children can play and engage in development activities while their displaced mothers are busy with their work.

Currently, there are five free spaces for kiddos in Khmelnytskyi. Kateryna plans to scale up the project and increase the number of areas. And besides, she wants to continue conducting training for women.

• children
• women
• Khmelnytskyi

The official opening of the learning ‘mini hub’ in the liberated Rudnytske village in Kyiv Oblast will be held On November 30. The settlement was severely damaged during the occupation of the region in the spring of 2022: private houses were utterly destroyed, and the school and other infrastructure facilities were smashed up. The children, eventually, had no place to study, attend after-school clubs, or just get together.

Thanks to the grant and philanthropists, we managed to create a hub where teachers can give lectures, the youth can organize their leisure time, and children can stay online to do their homework in case the power is out.

Event prior accreditation is required.

For reference: The learning ‘mini hub’ in Rudnytske in the Kyiv region, was created by the MHP-Gromadi Foundation with the support of ISAR Ednannia as part of the Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity project.

• casualties
• children
• occupation
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

As part of the charity campaign “St. Nicholas for Children in Need”, the Malteser Relief Service has received over 1,000 letters from children with disabilities and those war-affected. (Many letters came from children whose parents are in the ranks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In particular, on the front line. There are letters from children whose parents are considered missing).

Children write that they dream of peace and victory for Ukraine. They ask the Miracle Worker to bring their parents home alive and healthy and to give the Ukrainian Armed Forces superpowers to win as soon as possible. In addition, they asked for the usual gifts from the Saint: toys, scooters, bicycles, etc.

As planned, the letters with the children’s requests are sorted out by the benefactors. They bring prepared gifts to the office of the Maltese Service (which serves as St. Nicholas’ residence for a month). Starting December 6, the presents will be sent to the children.

For reference: This year, Ukraine celebrates St. Nicholas Day for the first time according to the Revised Julian Calendar on December 6.

• children
• Lviv

Saint Nicholas’ Reindeer project volunteers have received as many as 1,000 letters from children from all over Ukraine. Basically, children ask St. Nich to bring toys, sweets, bicycles, or gadgets (as many of them study online) as a gift. This year, the kids also ask for victory for Ukraine and help for the Armed Forces, and some of them dream of going back to their destroyed homes.

According to the charity initiative, any person can pick a child’s letter and fulfill a dream. The volunteers will deliver the gifts, create a festive holiday celebration, and take a photo report. They will visit the de-occupied territories of the Kharkiv region, and work in Kyiv, Donetsk, and many other localities.

Journalists can talk to the campaign organizers, and cover the process of distributing gifts by volunteers, wherever possible. 

For reference: The St. Nicholas’ Reindeer project was founded in 2016 in Kharkiv to support children from frontline communities.

• children
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

On November 22, Kyiv will host a press conference and the launch of the social information campaign “Do you hear what this is about?”.

Nearly 1 in 2 children do not talk to his or her parents about experiencing difficult emotions and handling feelings related to the war. That’s evidenced by the U-Report platform and the Voices of Children Foundation survey. Why don’t children feel free to share problems with their parents how this can be prevented will be discussed at a press conference by the Voices of Children Foundation.

In addition, to help parents hear their children out when they talk about the war, the Voices of Children Foundation is launching a public education campaign, “Do you hear what it’s about?”. It will be held across the country’s 13 Oblasts.

The campaign’s uniqueness lies in its stories based on true life events and statements of 7 children who agreed to participate. These brave kiddos will tell Ukrainians how the war has changed them and what kind of support they expect from their parents.

Speakers:

– Olena Rozvadovska, Chairman of the Board and Co-founder of the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation;

– Yaroslava Katolyk, Communications Manager of the UNICEF U-Report Ukraine project

– Victoriia Solomenko, a 17-year-old, “Do you hear what it’s about?” participant. 

Event registration is required. 

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Children’s Voices Foundation is on the BBC 100 Women list. The project recognizes the achievements of women around the world and in all spheres of life – from volunteering to running international organizations. 

A 27-year-old Olena took up the position of press secretary at The Office of the Commissioner for Children’s Rights of the President of Ukraine. In this role, she became deeply involved in human rights activities and learned more about the problems children face. This was followed by 5 years of volunteering in Donbas, the founding of the Voices of Children charity foundation, and the growth of the team from 2 employees to 200 people. 

The Voices of Children Foundation provides psychological and psychosocial assistance to children and war-affected families.

Read more on Olena’s biography here.

For reference: This year, the BBC 100 Women has included two more Ukrainians, Oksana Zabuzhko and Iryna Stavchuk, in its list. Apart from the Ukrainians, 27 global climate activists made the list. Other inspiring women on this year’s list include Michelle Obama, a lawyer and former first lady of the United States, and Amal Clooney, a human rights barrister.

• children
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

The Volunteering School Class initiative was recently launched in Ukraine aiming to encourage teenagers to engage in volunteer activities. Also, the project’s goal is to develop child leadership, organizational skills, perseverance, and confidence.

The 45-minute lessons are held in educational institutions, where activists, teachers, and celebrities tell students how to achieve significant results by taking small steps and sharing tools to help them join the volunteer movement.

During the Volunteering Class, singer Alyona Alyona met with a Kyiv school students, PROBASS ∆ HARDI visited a school in Horishni Plavni, Poltava Oblast, and singer and performer Mila Nitich gave a lesson in an educational institution in Irpin.

Journalists are welcome to cover the Volunteering School Class featuring celebrities in Kyiv, by prior arrangement.

• children
• volunteers

On November 16, Ukraine Media Center Ukrinform will host a briefing on the signing agreements with the World Food Program in Ukraine by the heads of 11 regions to expand the National School Feeding Program. The briefing will focus on the challenges in providing daily meals to primary school students and children receiving social benefits, as well as the role of WFP in providing cooked school meals.

Participants:

– Andriy Stashkiv, Deputy Minister of Education and Science of Ukraine;

– Matthew Hollingworth, UN World Food Program (WFP) Representative and Country Director in Ukraine;

– Ruslan Kravchenko, Head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration;

– Ihor Taburets, Head of Cherkasy Oblast Military Administration.

For reference: Last academic year, the UN World Food Program funded 50% of hot meals for children in 58 primary schools in Kyiv Oblast for four months. This year, WFP is expanding a cooked school meals program to reach 11 regions. WFP will provide 30% of daily meals for more than 60,000 Ukrainian school-age children.

• children
• food
• Kyiv

Nataliia Plakhotniuk was born in Luhansk region and dreamed of becoming a teacher from an early age. She graduated from a university in the east, gained her first teaching experience, and later met her future husband. Pavlo is a professional soldier, who has been in the ranks of the Armed Forces since 2004. A few years ago, the couple moved to Bucha, Kyiv region.

On February 24, 2022, Pavlo and Nataliia learned about the beginning of the big war. The husband was immediately called up for duty, and Nataliia and her children left Bucha only on February 25, when russian tanks had already entered nearby Hostomel. After the liberation of Kyiv region and returning home, Nataliia realized that she wanted to teach children and open her own business. She learned about the Smartum training center franchise, got state financial support for military personnel and their families, and opened her training center in Bucha. Currently, 45 children study in Nataliia’s class. They study mental arithmetic, speed reading and English as well as prepare for school. 

• children
• occupation
• women
• Kyiv