Themes by tag: children

Oleh, Yaroslav, Hlib, and their grandmother Oleksandra left their native village of Hnutove, which was one of the first settlements to experience the horror of a full-scale Russian offensive. Seeking salvation, the family went to Mariupol, but later it was besieged by Russians. Later, there was no electricity, gas, water, or service. The children and their grandmother had to survive literally. They stayed in the basement for two months. They managed to escape the occupation in their native village by being subjected to filtration in the notorious camp system. Recently, thanks to donors, the Voices of Children Charity Foundation bought a house for a family in the Kyiv region.

In 2017, Oleh became the protagonist of the Danish director’s documentary The Distant Barking of Dogs, which told the story of Ukrainians on the front line that was shortlisted among 15 candidates for the 2019 Oscars in the Best Documentary Feature.

• casualties
• children
• occupation

Canine specialists of Base 4.5.0. the Center for Innovative Military Rehabilitation will hold canine therapy sessions in the capital. Several trained dogs were chosen for therapy: Welsh corgi Foksi and Laisve, German boxer Linda, and Yorkshire terrier Shusha. The center experts say that during their first sessions they worked with the children who had stopped speaking after the beginning of russia’s invasion. However, after working with animals, the children started talking again. Canine therapists say that working with dogs normalizes the work of the nervous system, reduces stress, conflict and anxiety.

For reference: Canine therapy is a method of positive psychosocial and physical rehabilitation influence on people with the help of specially trained dogs. It is one of the methods of zootherapy.

• animals
• casualties
• children
• psychological support
• Kyiv

14-year-old Taisiia cannot fully engage in her favorite activity – drawing, because there is no bomb shelter in her art school. The institution is located in Saltivka (Kharkiv district, which suffered greatly as a result of russia’s full-scale invasion). The shelling even caused school windows to shatter. Currently, they are planning to auction off drawings, the money will be used to set up the bomb shelter.

The shelter will allow children to work offline and return to in-person communication.

After the victory, the students of the school plan to use the shelter as a gallery in the future.

• children
• russian crimes
• Kharkiv

To help children survive the psychological consequences of the war, the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation organizes summer camps in various cities of the country. Children of military personnel and prisoners, as well as those who left the occupation or front-line territories were invited to free psychosocial support camps.

Children participate in various activities: trips, camping, sports games, master classes, volunteering. Special attention is paid to the psycho-emotional state. Experienced psychologists of the Foundation hold group and individual classes with children.

Day camps are held in Lviv, Dnipro, Ivano-Frankivsk, Kryvyi Rih, Chernivtsi, Chernihiv, Skhidnytsia. There are also camping sites with overnight stays in Mukachevo, Uzhhorod and Lviv.

Background: During the year of the full-scale war, Voices of Children Charitable Foundation provided psychological and psychosocial assistance to 4,700 children and more than 1,800 adults.

• children
• Dnipro
• Ivano-Frankivsk
• Lviv
• Uzhhorod

The WOMAN AND WAR psychologists charity platform helps and supports women and children affected by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In that regard, specialists have developed various group therapies: those for mothers, for women abroad, for women who lost a loved one during the war, for military wives, and teenagers.

In 15 months, the team has assisted nearly 7000 women and children.

Journalists can talk to the charity platform psychologist, as well as to participants who have applied for help by prior arrangement. 

• children
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women

Next week, a team of doctors from the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery is going to Donetsk region to examine the hearts of children and adults. They will work in settlements of Volnovakha and Pokrovsk districts.

This will be the team’s fifth visit to Donetsk region. During the previous trips, doctors examined almost 600 children and adults. Some of the examined children have already undergone the necessary heart surgeries at the Center for Pediatric Cardiology and Cardiac Surgery (free of charge).

• children
• doctors

The Center for the Protection of Children’s Rights works with children who have been subjected or become witnesses of russian crimes. At the institution, specialists receive information from children and their families, conduct medical examinations and provide the necessary assistance.

The Center operates according to the Bring Kids Back UA action plan. This is a set of measures taken by the Ukrainian authorities, foreign governments and international organizations that protect children’s rights. In particular, this plan is to facilitate the return of Ukrainian children who were illegally deported to russia.

• children
• russian crimes

The construction of the first part of a 3D printed school, has been completed in Lviv. The team disassembled and moved the printer to begin printing the second, final part of the building. The entire building is planned to be put up in 10 days.

It will be the first school in Ukraine created with 3D printing technologies: the building is designed for 100 first-graders. The institution is planned to open in 2024. The school project was developed by Balbek Bureau architecture studio.

• children
• Lviv

On June 1, at 12:30 PM, “Ukraine 5 AM Coalition” will hold a press conference entitled: “Ukrainian children under russian control: how to protect their rights and future?”

During the event, the participants will discuss: the current situation with the abduction of Ukrainian children by the russians, specific cases of such crimes, attempts by the russian occupiers to “re-educate” Ukrainian children and destroy their identity, etc.

Participants:

• Onysiia Syniuk – legal analyst at ZMINA Center for Human Rights;
• Valentyna Potapova – Head for National Advocacy in Education at Almenda Civic Education Center;
• Kseniia Korniienko – lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights;
• Anastasiia Pantelieieva – Head of the Documentation Department at the Media Initiative for Human Rights;
• Ievgeniia Kapalkina – lawyer at Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group.

For reference:

“Ukraine 5 AM Coalition” started working on February 25, 2022, the day after russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today, 34 NGOs and four individual experts are united in the Coalition. They combined their efforts to systematically document war crimes and crimes against humanity committed during the russian armed aggression against Ukraine.

• children
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

A social project supporting Ukraine’s defenders has been operating in Lviv and Ternopil since the beginning of the full-scale war.  Here couples can undergo a free infertility treatment program and cryopreserve (freeze) their biological material (sperm and eggs).

Journalists can learn more about this project from Stefan Khmil, MD, a fertility specialist, and from couples who have joined the initiative whenever possible.

• children
• doctors
• military
• Lviv
• Ternopil