Themes by tag: children
Tag is about movement, contact, passing something on, and creating a safe space — and then repeating the cycle. This logic of shared, continuous action has become the metaphor and central theme of the closing event of the project “Strengthening Comprehensive Reintegration Support for Returned Children.”
When it comes to reintegrating a child who has experienced occupation, forced displacement, or isolation in frontline communities, there are no minor details. Every part of the process matters. It involves everyone — from a school psychologist and a community case manager to relevant ministries. If one link in the chain fails, a child may be left alone with trauma whose effects can last for years. That is why the event aims to bring together all stakeholders involved in the process on a single platform, with the child’s own voice serving as the starting point.
Topics for discussion:
- Teenagers Tymofii, Olia and Serhii will share their personal experiences. The discussion will be moderated by Kyrylo Nevdokha, Head of the “DIYMO” Children and Youth Office under Ukraine’s Ministry of Social Policy.
- The launch of a school-based reintegration mentoring programme as a systemic response to the challenges of war.
- The experience of psychologists, case managers and social workers.
- Presentation of the analytical study “Returning Childhood: Psychological Support for Children on the Path to Reintegration,” focusing on the psychological and psychosocial reintegration of children in Ukraine.
Panel discussions will feature representatives of government institutions, international organizations and experts, including Olena Rozvadovska (co-founder of the charitable foundation Voices of Children), Iryna Tuliakova (Coordination Center for the Development of Family-Based Care), Oleksandra Dvoretska (the President of Ukraine’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative), Van Chi Pham (UNICEF Ukraine), Anastasiia Konovalova (Deputy Minister of Education and Science), and Member of Parliament Roman Hryshchuk.
Participants will also be able to explore children’s stories through the photo exhibition “A Thread: Transformation Instead of Brokenness,” created by the Voices of Children charitable foundation together with photographer Marta Syrko.
The event will take place in Kyiv on June 23. Journalists can review the full programme of the event. Accreditation is required to attend.
Lviv will host the “Chamber Studies of Lviv” cinema residency for teenagers aged 14–17 from June 24–30, led by film director Hala Koziutynska.
Participants will master the basics of film directing, cinematography, editing, and sound design, while also learning how to create video essays and video poetry.
The teenagers will explore Lviv’s cultural and lesser-known locations through the lens of a camera and their own perspective on reality. They will create their own sound library of the city, concluding the residency with a final public screening of their works followed by a discussion.
Participation is free of charge.
Background: Funded with UK aid from the UK government (British Embassy Kyiv) and implemented by the “Voices of Children” Foundation within the PULSE National Consortium, coordinated by the “Right to Protection” Charitable Foundation. The UK government’s support for this project in Ukraine is provided through the SHARP component of its Humanitarian Assistance, Recovery, and Protection Programme.
Angelina’s father served in the 93rd Separate Mechanized Brigade. He was killed in action on June 13, 2023, near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.
Currently, Angelina lives with her mother, Mariana, in Kropyvnytskyi and is a second-grade student. The girl has a passion for creative arts, attends a modeling agency, participates in photoshoots and runway shows.
Mariana works for a charitable foundation, where she provides daily assistance to other families affected by the war.
The family is available for in-person or online interviews by prior arrangement.
Reference: The “Children of Heroes” Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents to the war. The fund offers immediate, personalized assistance, including humanitarian aid, psychological and medical support, as well as educational and development opportunities for children until they reach adulthood.
A discussion on access to psychological support for Ukrainian children will take place in Kyiv on June 4.
Speakers at the event include Sofia and Yevheniia, beneficiaries of the Voices of Children Foundation; Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder of the Voices of Children Foundation; Nataliia Sosnovenko, head of the foundation’s Center for Psychological Expertise; and Larysa Hretchenko, a lawyer specializing in children’s rights protection and chair of the Ukrainian National Bar Association’s Family Law Committee.
Staff at the Voices of Children Foundation regularly work with children who directly request psychological support. However, many are unable to receive it. Ukrainian law requires consent from a parent or another legal guardian before a child can access psychological services — even when parents are serving on the front line, living under temporary occupation, have died, hold negative views toward mental health professionals, or are themselves a source of danger to the child.
The foundation’s proposals for improving access to psychological and psychiatric care for Ukrainian children and adolescents are available at the following link.
Background: According to a study by Beyond Conflict published in September 2024, 80% of Ukrainian children live with symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Access to timely support often depends on whether there is an adult available and willing to provide consent for psychological assistance.
Ukrainian legislation divides minors into two categories. Children under the age of 14 are permitted only to carry out minor everyday transactions, such as purchasing food, clothing, or toys. Adolescents aged 14 to 18 may open bank accounts and manage their own income. However, neither group is currently allowed to independently seek psychological support.
The Build Future educational project has launched in the Ukrainian capital, offering talented teenagers free eight-month training in practical physics and engineering at the laboratories of the Kyiv Aviation Institute (KAI). The initiative’s organizers have created a space where students can not only study theory but also develop their own technological solutions.
Participants work with sensors and circuits, learn soldering and programming, explore 3D printing, create prototypes and engineering systems, attend mentoring sessions with engineers and technical specialists, and work on their own team projects.
The participants include teenagers interested in engineering, technology and science. The program brings together students who achieved an average physics grade of 9.96 during the previous academic year, including participants in Olympiads and competitions organized by the Junior Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.
Interviews with the project team can be arranged both online and offline in Kyiv by prior appointment.
Leonid Cherniavskyi is a distinguished coach and vice-president of the All-Ukrainian Kyokushin Budo Karate Organization. He spent five months in occupied Kherson after russian forces seized the city at the start of the full-scale invasion. In summer 2022, he managed to evacuate to government-controlled territory in the Mykolaiv region.
After the de-occupation of the right bank of the Kherson region, Cherniavskyi proposed opening a children’s karate section in the village of Mykhailiv.
At first, the karate club operated in an old kindergarten building, part of a school that had survived a missile strike. Later, the need for a larger space arose, and the club began renovating a damaged cultural center. International donors helped restore the building, and British sponsors purchased tatami mats. Today, parents of the students help maintain the club.
The “Katana” karate club currently has 32 children — both local residents and children from nearby villages in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. In bad weather, they sometimes walk 5 kilometers to training, as heavy rain makes roads impassable. The coach travels by moped from the neighboring Mykolaiv region.
In more than two years of operation, students of the club have competed in European and world championships. Two girls have become Candidate Masters of Sports and won prizes at international competitions. The “Katana” karate club has become one of the largest sports organizations in the Kherson region.
Journalists can arrange interviews with Leonid Cherniavskyi, as well as with students in the village of Mykhailiv in the Kherson region or online.
Background: Kherson was occupied by russian forces at the beginning of the full-scale invasion (March 1, 2022). The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the city and the right-bank part of the region in November 2022. The area continues to be regularly shelled by russian forces.
On April 8, in cooperation with the National University of Food Technologies, a masterclass on baking traditional Easter bread (paska) will be held with the participation of children of veterans, employees of the Police Protection Department of the Kyiv region, and internally displaced persons.
The event will take place in Kyiv. The baked goods will be delivered to Ukrainian soldiers undergoing rehabilitation. Participants will not only learn baking skills but also express their gratitude to Ukraine’s defenders ahead of Easter.
Program:
- joint baking of Easter bread (paska)
- introduction to Easter traditions
- informal communication
- preparation of festive gifts for Ukrainian soldiers.
Oleksii Naidenko joined Ukraine’s defense in 2014, serving in the 28th Separate Mechanized Brigade. Prior to that, he had worked for more than 15 years as a boatswain on gas carriers. After the start of the full-scale invasion, he returned from abroad to defend the country again, this time serving in the 67th Separate Mechanized Brigade (DUK PS).
In 2023, he was discharged from military service due to health reasons. On November 25, 2024, he died in hospital as a result of complications from his injuries.
His wife, Olena, has been involved in volunteer work since 2016. She founded the initiative group “Cherkasy Charivnytsi,” which prepares dry rations and ready-to-eat meals in retort pouches for soldiers on the frontline and visits wounded defenders in hospitals.
The couple has a 13-year-old son, Matvii Naidenko. He is an eighth-grade student and actively participates in sports, including competitions under the “Side by Side” initiative (rugby, football, handball). Since 2020, the family has also taken part in charity runs and marathons in support of the military.
According to his mother, Matvii was very close to his father. While his father worked at sea, the boy helped at home, and after his loss, he became a strong support for his mother and actively participates in volunteer work.
The family has remained in Cherkasy. Matvii is a beneficiary of the “Children of Heroes” Charitable Foundation.
In 2025, one of Matvii’s dreams was to receive an autograph from Ukrainian footballer Artem Dovbyk. This wish was fulfilled with the support of Daniel Salem and Lida Lee. He is now focused on football and preparing to enter a football academy.
Journalists can arrange interviews with the family online by prior arrangement.
Participants:
– Tetiana Skrypka, Member of the Ukrainian Parliament;
– Sofia Yudina, Mentorship Development Manager and active mentor;
– Alina Lepska, Program Coordinator at the Coordination Center for the Development of Family Upbringing and Child Care;
– Kyrylo Nevdokha, Head of the DIiMO Office at the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine;
– Lina Deshvar, expert in the field of support for children and youth with disabilities.
Topics for discussion:
– Key changes in the law on mentoring;
– How can you get involved in mentoring or support its development?
– What are the specific features of mentoring for children and youth with disabilities?
The charitable foundation savED, with support from Education Cannot Wait, has opened “Vulyk” (Beehive), a multifunctional educational hub in the village of Morozivka, Baryshivka community, Kyiv region, as part of the Multi-Year Resilience Programme 2024–2026 (MYRP).
The center hosts school lessons, creative workshops, STEM activities, reading and film clubs, as well as social-emotional learning sessions, and offers an open space for social interaction.
More than 250 students now have access to educational activities in a comfortable environment. Among them are six internally displaced children and five children with special educational needs. The center is also temporarily hosting preschool children, as the local kindergarten currently lacks heating, allowing younger children in the community to join activities at “Vulyk.”
Within the framework of the MYRP, supported by Education Cannot Wait, savED and the Kyiv School of Economics Foundation (KSE Foundation) are systematically supporting education in communities. In particular, savED renovated and equipped the “Vulyk” space at Morozivka Lyceum named after Denys Popovych, providing furniture, books, games, and supplies, and engaging tutors to coordinate activities.
In Morozivka, KSE Foundation also ensured student safety by equipping a shelter at the lyceum, allowing children to remain safe within the school during air raid alerts.
In total, 24 “Vulyk” education centers have been established across eight regions — Mykolaiv, Chernihiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions. These centers have created additional learning and recreational opportunities for more than 40,000 children and 12,000 teachers. They operate in de-occupied communities and regions where access to full-time education remains limited due to security risks, damaged infrastructure, and power outages.
Background: According to savED research, in 2025 only 41% of surveyed students in Ukraine regularly participated in extracurricular activities — a rate below average. Among the main barriers identified by educators are the lack of human and financial resources at the community level, as well as insufficient infrastructure. The study found that only 63% of schools have adequate space for clubs or sports activities. This is below the desired minimum, particularly in communities hosting internally displaced persons or facing infrastructure constraints. In the survey, 67% of children attending “Vulyk” centers said they had made new friends there, while more than 35% reported an improvement in their leisure time.
