Themes by tag: children

Maryna and Mykola are both military; they met in 2019 in the army. The woman had two daughters from a previous marriage — Olena and Oleksandra. Mykola also has a daughter named Milana. At first, the family lived in Mariupol, Donetsk region (now the city is occupied), then they moved to Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (now the city is occupied).

The couple served in the Azov brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2020, Mykola resigned from the Azov and joined the Marines. Maryna’s contract ended in November 2021, but she did not want to leave her brothers in arms.

When the full-scale invasion began, Maryna, along with other Azov defenders of Mariupol ended up at the Azovstal plant (i.e. Iron and Steel Works where fierce battles with the enemy took place in the spring of 2022). Mykola wanted to switch with Marina and go to Azovstal instead of her. The woman persuaded him not to do this because at the checkpoint, the russians shot three guys who were on their way to meet their girlfriends, and many others who broke through to the plant went missing. Even then, Maryna understood that she and other military personnel were unlikely to get out of the Azovstal alive. And she asked her husband to take care of her daughters. On May 8, 2022, the woman died in a fire at the Azovstal.

Now Mykola is fighting for the right to adopt his deceased wife’s daughters and give them a happy future. He is purchasing a three-room apartment for the girls in the Kyiv region so they can live together as a family.

With the help of the Children of Heroes Fund, Maryna’s daughters received gifts and visited a rehabilitation camp, which helped them to distract themselves from terrible memories and disturbing thoughts.

For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. Following the order of the command, the Ukrainian defenders stopped putting up the defense, left Azovstal, and surrendered to the enemy. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol was occupied by russia.

The Children of Heroes Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion. The fund offers financial aid as well as psychological and legal support. The organization helps these children with education and development until they reach adulthood.

As of the beginning of February, 7,889 wards are under the care of the Fund. Of them, 1,062 are IDPs, 151 children have lost their mother and father, 177 are children with disabilities, and 970 are children from large families. Every week, about 80 children are included in the list of recipients of the fund’s help. Among the fund’s children, 88% are kids of military personnel, while the remaining 12% are civilians.

• casualties
• children
• dead
• military
• women
• Kyiv
• Mariupol

After the beginning of the full-scale invasion, about 8,500 Ukrainian children were left without parental care, more than 1,500 became orphans, tens of thousands lost their homes or were forced to relocate. Children’s homes and orphanages in Ukraine are under great pressure today, their resources are exhausted, and access to quality medical care is limited.

As part of the “Little Hearts” project, FRIDA takes care of Children’s homes and orphanages in different parts of Ukraine. Teams consisting of volunteer doctors of different specializations travel to these institutions to examine children and determine if they need medicines, vaccinations, rehabilitation and surgical interventions.

Pediatricians will visit a children’s home in Kyiv region in April.

Media representatives are invited to cover the missions under this project.

• casualties
• children
• doctors
• Kyiv

12-year-old Yana Stepanenko, who lost both legs in a rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, will take part in the Boston Marathon. On April 13, the girl will run a 5-kilometer distance on prosthetics to show the whole world the indomitability of the Ukrainian people. Another of Yana’s goals in Boston is charity. She will be raising funds for a sports prosthesis for Andrii Kropyvnytskyi, seriously wounded defender and a patient of the Unbroken Center, who lost a limb in the war.

For the past two months, the girl has been training hard to participate in the Boston Marathon. Yana was invited to participate in it by the American foundation One World Strong, which helps veterans and civilians who suffered as a result of terrorist attacks and hostilities.

On April 4, Yana Stepanenko will hold an open training session for the media in Lviv.

The event in Lviv requires registration.

For reference: on April 8, 2022, as a result of a russian terrorist attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk, Yana Stepanenko lost both legs. The photo of her being carried by the surgeon of the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital of Lviv’s First Medical Association went viral around the world. Yana received her first prostheses for walking and running in the USA. Last summer, after a year of recovery abroad, she returned to Ukraine. Yana continued her rehabilitation here and already managed to get new artificial limbs for walking from the Unbroken Center’s prosthetic workshops.

The Boston Marathon is one of the largest and most prestigious events in the world. About 30,000 people from all over the world take part in it every year.

• casualties
• children
• russian crimes
• Lviv

In Kharkiv’s Industrial District, a state-of-the-art underground school catering to 900 students is nearing completion. With the capacity to accommodate 450 pupils per shift, taking time to study in two sessions. Installation of desks and blackboards is already underway, heralding the imminent start of classes.

This innovative educational initiative will afford students the opportunity to engage in offline learning, marking a significant advancement in academic accessibility. 

Media outlets are granted access to document the final stages of construction and conduct interviews as necessary.

For reference: Since September 2023, the Kharkiv subway has hosted classrooms for schoolchildren, with over a thousand students currently enrolled.

• children
• Kharkiv

April 4th, showcasing the experiences of teenagers living through war. Produced by the savED Charitable Foundation in collaboration with the kinotonly filmmaking team, the documentary delves into the stories of teens from Kharkiv, Zaporizhia, Mykolaiv, Kakhovka, and Lviv, along with their mentors. In the film, these resilient teenagers share firsthand accounts of surviving a full-scale war and offer insights into their efforts toward Ukraine’s development and reconstruction. (Watch the trailer here). 

The documentary has already premiered in venues like London, Oxford, and Cambridge, with Kyiv being the next stop on April 4th.

Ukrainian artist and illustrator Nikita Titov has been enlisted by the savED Foundation to craft posters for the film, adding a visually captivating element to its promotion.

Attendees of the screening will have the unique opportunity to engage with the film’s protagonists and mentors, with Ukrainian actor, screenwriter, and host of the YouTube show ’20:23′ Yevhen Yanovych moderating a discussion after the screening.

Beyond its educational aims, ‘We. The Future’ also serves a charitable purpose. As it travels the globe, the film’s creators and subjects raise funds to support the revival of the Mariupol Lyceum, which was forced to relocate from the occupied city to Kyiv. Today, the Lyceum provides education to hundreds of children from the occupied territories. 

Event registration is required. 

• children
• culture
• reconstruction
• Kyiv

From March 29 to 30, doctors from Okhmatdyt will be visiting Ladyzhyn, Vinnytsia Oblast, as part of the Health Moneybox project. Over 20 specialized doctors from the Kyiv medical institution will be examining children of military personnel.

Since the early days of the all-out invasion, with over 800 thousand Ukrainians rallying to defend the country, military families have faced the unique challenge of ensuring high-quality and timely medical care for their children while their loved ones serve on the front lines. In response, philanthropists have joined forces with medical professionals to offer comprehensive health examinations for children, as well as assistance with treatment or prevention as needed.

During the press tour, interviews will be available with:

• Olena Dovhal, the spouse of serviceman Volodymyr and mother to four children (two sons and 13-year-old twin daughters Marta and Varvara), is facing a crucial moment. Her eldest son, Illia, is currently on the front lines defending the nation in the AFU, while the youngest, Zakhar, is pursuing military affairs. A large family needs thorough medical evaluation;
• Olha Medvedieva, head of the pediatric department of the Okhmatdyt National Children’s Hospital;
• Okhmatdyt’s specialized doctors;
• Petro Andriyets, Head of Social Projects at the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation;
• Oleksandr Kolomiets, acting mayor of Ladyzhyn.

The event requires accreditation for journalist coverage. The accreditation period extends until 9:00 a.m. on March 28.

For reference: This initiative is a collaboration with the National Children’s Specialized Hospital of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine “Okhmatdyt,” supported by the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation, with assistance from the Ladyzhyn City Council and support from the Children of Heroes Charity Fund.

• children
• doctors
• Vinnytsia

A press briefing titled “Stolen Childhood: russia’s Preparation of Ukrainian Children for War Amid Occupation and Deportation” is set to take place on March 26 at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform.

Participants:

– Iryna Suslova, Representative of the Ombudsperson for Children’s Rights in the Office of the Ombudsperson of Ukraine; 

– Representative of the Prosecutor General’s Office;

– Olha Skrypnyk, Head of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group;

– Mariia Sulialina, Head of the Center for Civil Education “Almenda”;

– Khrystyna Shkudor, “Where Are Our People?” campaign advocacy manager, PR Army NGO.

– Vladyslav Havrylov, research historian at the ‘Where Are Our People?’ PR Army NGO project;

For context: russia is accused of systematically perpetrating war crimes in Ukraine’s temporarily occupied regions. Notably, occupiers are allegedly intentionally militarizing children residing in these areas or forcibly relocating them to russia and belarus territories. Such actions are purportedly part of a calculated strategy by the aggressor nation. Critics argue that russian occupiers are eroding Ukrainian identity among children and assimilating them to address russia’s demographic challenges. This purportedly serves to groom a future “mobilization reserve” for the russian military’s potential involvement in the war against Ukraine.

• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Nazar Skakodub is a 14-year-old teenager from Vinnytsia. The young man started sculpting from plasticine five years ago, and recently learned how to make stop motion videos. Nazar dedicates them to the Ukrainian military, who are fighting on the front lines. The boy called one of his works “Battle for Kherson.” Nazar turned his room into a studio where he works on characters, shoots and edits videos himself. Nazar mostly finds ideas and ways to implement them in social networks: he watches video lessons and reads the news. The boy presents his work on TikTok, where the first fans and critics of Nazar’s art have already gathered up. In the future, the schoolboy plans to participate in competitions and create a stop motion film.

• children
• Vinnytsia

Prior to the all-out invasion, Viktoriia Bobrynok used to be a school principal in Tokmak, Zaporizhia. When her hometown fell under Russian occupation during the onset of the war, she relocated to Ukraine-controlled territory. Initially employed as a secretary at a school in Lviv, Viktoriia later shifted her focus to aiding fellow displaced individuals.

She reached out to the Alliance for Public Health, an international charitable foundation, and together they established a shelter for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Initially hosting teachers from Zaporizhia, the shelter soon welcomed IDPs from various regions. However, as the influx dwindled, Viktoriia transformed the shelter into a “Safe Camp” catering to children from frontline areas. She devised a specialized program to keep them engaged, offering instruction in essential skills across various professions, including programming, alongside organized excursions. Each camp session spans several weeks, with the upcoming one slated to commence on March 11.

In between working camp shifts, Viktoriia continues to support the IDPs by coordinating diverse activities for both children and adults, including photo sessions, workshops, and city tours, aiming to facilitate their integration into urban life and hasten their adjustment to their new circumstances.

• children
• women
• Lviv

Before facing the brunt of Russia’s invasion, The Jin Roh Circus Studio & Entertainment has been running in Kherson for 15 years. The war caught its members in their hometown. In the chaos, they sought basic necessities like food and medicine, often taking refuge in makeshift shelters. Remarkably, one of the studio’s halls transformed into a bomb shelter, providing safety to around 40 individuals during the tumultuous early weeks. As Russian forces tightened their grip on Kherson, civilians faced escalating repression, prompting many, including Jin Roh’s students, to flee. Even the studio’s founder and director, Roman Vashchenko, was compelled to leave to evade capture.

Since the city’s liberation in November 2022, Vashchenko has returned, dedicating himself to rebuilding the studio’s activities. However, the journey back to normalcy is fraught with challenges. Once bustling with 300 students, Jin Roh now sees a fraction of that number attending classes to 2-8, with safety concerns looming large amidst continued shelling by occupying forces.

For reference: Kherson fell under Russian occupation at the onset of the full-scale invasion on March 1, 2022. It wasn’t until November 11, 2022, that the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated the city from Russian control. Despite this liberation, the occupiers persist in regularly shelling the city.

• children
• culture
• Kherson