Themes by tag: children

On December 21, in Kyiv, Ukrposhta and UNICEF will present behind-the-scenes footage of “Wonder Action” amazing workshop and officially open it to everyone. Visitors will be able to “take a peek” at elves tirelessly packing children’s letters; listen to what the little “Wonder Actors” wished in their letters to other children; put bags with children’s letters into Ukrposhta’s Christmas car.

As reported on December 1, the “Wonder Action” initiative was launched. As a part of the project each child had the opportunity to write an uplifting letter to another child – to create a miracle. Starting tomorrow, the first of 40,000 envelopes will be distributed throughout the country.

The event requires accreditation.

• children
• Kyiv

The Dobrodiy Club Charitable Foundation invites news publishers to the opening ceremony of the ‘Place of Power’ free space that supports war-affected children and teenagers. The event will take place in Kyiv on December 21.

The space is a 240 m², three-story facility with a shelter. There are separate creativity zones, lectures and training, counseling, and interaction with a psychologist (for a child to learn to work through stress and transitions, communicate in a community, and develop resilience mechanisms). Place of Power space is committed to open its doors to 75,000 teenagers annually. 

The event will feature “(Already) adult discussion: What keeps your mentality alive?” – a dialogue with Ukrainian teenagers, and “My Identity” art collage workshop. 

The first visitors to the space will share their own stories of finding support and encouragement, as well as advice and life hacks for their peers.

Prior event accreditation is required. 

• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

Chujo Hideto is a 42-year-old businessman from Japan. He came to Ukraine in the spring of 2022 and has been volunteering ever since. In particular, in Dnipro, Chudjo contributed financially to the creation of a shelter for forcibly displaced persons. The Japanese man lives in this facility, and helps adults and children staying there.

The volunteer also took part in rescue operations in Kherson region after the occupiers blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam. And recently he bought power generators, power banks and boats for the local rescuers.

Chujo is the founder of the “Smile” charitable foundation, which supports children traumatized by the war. Wearing a Pikachu outfit, the Japanese man gives positive emotions to children and brings them gifts.

Journalists have the opportunity to talk to the volunteer (online or in person). Chujo Hideto does not speak English, he communicates with the help of translation software.

• casualties
• children
• volunteers
• Dnipro

The ShchukaRyba band, DJ Chocollab, and children will host a charity concert featuring Ukrainian traditional songs and Christmas Carols in Kyiv on December 14. 

All funds raised will be used to provide psychological assistance to children affected by the war. The concert will showcase compositions created by teenagers in collaboration with the musicians.

This charitable event will serve as the culmination of the “Sound Lab” course conducted by the “Voices of Children” Foundation for teenagers. For several months, 15 teenagers from different regions, each with different war experiences, participated in a course covering traditional singing and electronic music, led by the folk group “ShchukaRyba” and DJ Chocollab. Together with the foundation’s psychologist, the children used music to live through their war experiences, traumatic memories, emotions, and feelings. Music can have a powerful therapeutic effect during times of war. 

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

Andrii Maksymchuk mobilized on the second day of the full-scale Russian invasion. A military unit, where the soldier served as a member, was the first to begin a push to regain territory of the Chornobyl zone during the liberation of the Kyiv region. Later, he took part in the operations at the country’s embattled east in the Izium and Bakhmut directions, and now he fights in the Zaporizha direction.

Andrii wrote a children’s poem in his spare time. He dedicated the lines written in the trenches to his young sons. The youngest of them, Myroslav, is fond of dragons and magical creatures and asked his father to create a book about them. The work on the poem lasted 7 months, in between battles. Andrii completed the work in the Izium region and titled it “Traveling in Ukraine and the Magic Dragon”. Andrii’s comrades-in-arms were the first to read the children’s book, and his friends helped with illustrations and raising funds for the first thousand copies.

Today, they have managed to sell 3000 copies of the book, all the proceeds will be directed to support the 132nd separate reconnaissance battalion of the airborne assault troops, where Andrii Maksymchuk serves. The money has already been used to buy drones, and armor and cover military medical care needs. 

• children
• culture
• military

“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