Themes by tag: children

A short film, “What Have We Lost?” written and acted by teenagers, will be screened in Kyiv. The film’s authors are children who survived the occupation, life near the fighting unfolded, traveling abroad, and other challenges of war. They will also present the film to journalists.

The teenagers created the film as part of an art therapy screenwriting course implemented by the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation. For three months, under the supervision of the director Marisa Nikitiuk, a group of children learned to live through the trauma of war through art.

The private screening of the film will take place on September 13.

Participants of the conversation:

• Nastia, Valeria, and Sofia, participants of the course, screenwriters, and actors of the film;
• Olena Rozvadovska, children’s human rights activist, Chair of the Voices of Children Foundation;
• Marysia Nikitiuk, film director (Ya.Nina, When Trees Fall), the screenwriting course tutor.

Actress Irma Vitovska and Azad Safarov, the second director of the “A House Made of Splinters” documentary, are others in attendance. 

Event accreditation is required.

For information: The Children’s Voices Charitable Foundation provides psychological and psychosocial support to children and parents affected by war.

• casualties
• children
• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

A “Safety Training Classroom” starts classes in the village of Baryshivka, Kyiv region, on September 8. The classroom training will teach students how to provide first aid and familiarize them with mine safety rules. The State Emergency Service representatives will attend the opening of the classroom.

For reference, The government approved the Safety Training Classroom to start across Ukraine in September last year. The room is fitted out with appropriate equipment to organize training on fire and mine safety. Among other things, children are taught how to act in the event of an emergency and in the event of an air raid alarm. The experts from the State Emergency Service, the National Police, medical workers, combatants, and mine safety specialists are engaged in taking “Safety Training Classroom” classes. 

• children
• Kyiv

Almost 9,500 children have been left without parental care since the beginning of the full-scale war. Of them, almost 1,500 were orphaned due to the terrorist actions of the russian federation. (Data of the National Social Service of Ukraine)

Journalists are welcome to learn more about the adoption of children during the war from representatives of the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.

“Partnership for Every Child” charitable organization educates families who want to adopt a child into their family. The students of the express courses are people who want to become: adoptive parents, foster parents, patronage caregivers and adopters.

Journalists are welcome to talk to experts from the organization (in particular, instructors, who conduct training), as well as families who adopted children during the war.

• children
• russian crimes

On September 1, a briefing “School education under Russian occupation: Incitement to hatred and destruction of Ukrainian identity.”

Participants:

– Peter Pomerantsev, British journalist, specialist in media and propaganda in modern Russia (online);

– Yevhen Bondarenko, Head of the Information Support Department of the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea (in person);

– Valentina Potapova, Head of the Direction of National Advocacy Department of the Almenda Center for Civic Education (in person);

– Anastasiia Vorobiova, analyst at Almenda (online);

Topics of focus:

– Narratives that Russia imposes on children in the Russia-controlled territories through textbooks;

– How Russia’s educational propaganda is gaining momentum. What to expect soon? How does Russian propaganda affect children, and what is its effectiveness?

– Legal assessment of Russia’s actions to impose Russian education on the temporarily occupied territories. Is it possible to bring to justice the authors and distributors of the textbook?

– What to do after de-occupation, how to reintegrate youth and children. Strategy from the Ukraine President’s Mission in the AR of Crimea.

For reference: On September 1, a new academic year begins for children from occupied territories. For some, it will be the 10th year, and for others, it will be the second year of living in such circumstances. For all these years, Russia has been using education for propaganda purposes, destroying the Ukrainian identity of children and militarizing them. And school textbooks are an integral tool.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes

On August 28, savED charity fund’s photo exhibition will be opened in Kyiv. The exhibition is dedicated to the stories of schools and children affected by the full-scale war.

The opening of the photo exhibition will be attended by students of Chernihiv, Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske (Chernihiv region), Borodyanka and Katyuzhanka (Kyiv region) schools, who, despite the horrors of war, shelling and occupation, have not lost their thirst for learning and are actively rebuilding their schools and communities. Their stories will be heard during the opening of the exhibition.

The photo exhibition will be a part of a campaign to raise funds for the construction of a temporary school in the village of Chervona Dolyna, Mykolaiv region. This, in turn, is part of the fund’s fundraising campaign #to_school_again, within which the fund is collecting money for the shelter and to restore facilities of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv regions.

For reference: As of August 2023, every tenth school in Ukraine has been destroyed by russia. And over 1,500 schools are significantly damaged or destroyed and cannot be repaired.

savED is a charity fund that restores access to education where it was taken away by war.

• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

14-year-old Matvii Hlazunov fled the war twice: in 2014 from Avdiivka in Donetsk region to Izyum in Kharkiv region, and in 2022 his family was forced to move to Mukachevo in Zakarpattia region. The boy reflects on these events in his animated films. He makes each character and designs each stage himself, then captures all the movements on camera and edits the cartoon. In 2021, his film “Melissa” won the Grand Prix at the Children Kinofest International Festival. The following year, with the film “Black February”, Matvii won in the festival’s nomination “Best animated film.” “Down the Rock” is the latest and the third cartoon by the young artist, which made it to the finals of the Children Kinofest.

Important notice: Matvii and his family are currently in Odesa, ready to talk with journalists, both online and offline.

• children
• culture
• occupation

On August 17, another rotation will start at the camp supporting the psychological and emotional state of teenagers from Kherson region, who suffered as a result of hostilities and by the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP caused by the occupiers. The camp is located in Truskavka, Lviv region. For 14 days, the visitors will focus on restoring their psycho-emotional state with the help of professional trainers and psychologists. Every day, teenagers will play outdoor games, engage in physical activity, attend trainings and master classes.

For reference: Leisure for teenagers from Kherson region is organized by the Coordination Center “Power of Youth” of the Ukrainian Leadership Academy together with the “JuniorS” NGO.

• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Lviv

Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske village is located near Chernihiv. At the beginning of the full-scale war, it was under occupation for more than a month. In March 2022, two russian missiles hit the local lyceum: the first and second floors of the building and the sports ground were destroyed.

The computer science, chemistry, physics, biology and defense of Ukraine classrooms, as well as the archive were also destroyed. The gym was damaged too.

Currently, the charitable foundation “savED” is helping to restore the lyceum (this foundation restores access to education in communities affected by the war).

Also, as part of the efforts by UNITED24, global initiative to support Ukraine, a charity match was held in London, where Ukrainian football players Andriy Shevchenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko took to the field to raise funds to restore Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske Lyceum in Chernihiv region.

• children
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv

Benjamin is a lawyer from Dusseldorf, Germany. Since the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion, the man has been helping Ukrainians. For instance, he sheltered a family from Kyiv in his own house, delivered about 40 tons of aid to Ukrainian cities and villages: for this he had to make 15 trips. Benjamin collects and delivers clothes, medicines, equipment and water purification systems. Voices of Children Charitable Foundation coordinates where this aid is most needed.

Benjamin renovated and equipped a room for children’s study and recreation in a dormitory for displaced persons in Kharkiv. Also, together with Voices of Children, the man is planning to create an art therapy workshop for the children.

Benjamin is currently in Ukraine and is ready to talk to the media.

• casualties
• children
• volunteers

On Thursday, August 3, “Okhmatdyt” National Children’s Specialized Hospital doctors will conduct mobile consultations for children in Makariv, Kyiv Oblast.

All children from the city and community are welcome to participate. The visit of the capital’s medical professionals is part of the charitable project “Health Treasury.”

Doctor appointments are available with:

• Olha Medvedieva (Head of the Pediatric Department at “Okhmatdyt”)

• other health professionals

• Vadym Tokar, the mayor of Makariv (about the city’s restoration after the occupation and the healthcare system overview)

• parents, and children living in Makariv.

The “Okhmatdyt” Children’s Hospital specialists have conducted nearly 50 medical services visits of a kind in the past year, including in the liberated cities of Zhytomyr, Kyiv, and Chernihiv Oblasts.

• children
• doctors
• Kyiv