Our project "Improving the Protection of Children in Emergencies in Ukraine by Providing Safe Shelters, Food and Non-Food Items, and Psychosocial Support" is ongoing. The part of the project with the largest coverage of the target audience is currently being implemented by our partners from the NGO "Happy Children" (Uzhhorod). We have already reported on the first summer activities organized for children and their mothers, and now we will tell you about the life of the participants in August-October 2023.

30 children had a rest at a day camp in Uzhhorod, where they had fun, learned and made new friends. 14 teenagers became members of a psychological support group in times of war, which is in great demand among young people in transition. Young people also joined a camp in the mountains (Yasinya village, Rakhiv district), which aims to improve their physical and psycho-emotional state simultaneously. The largest audience of more than 140 children was gathered by the theatrical quest tours for children "Secrets of Ancient Uzhhorod" and a tourist eco-club for schoolchildren in Rakhiv district.

Separate events were offered to mothers with children: the "Care" rehabilitation and recovery program for mothers with children from Kharkiv region helped 25 participants (10 mothers and 15 children), and the "Power of the Carpathians" recreational weekend for women with children covered 40 women and 50 children in four shifts.

Professional support in the form of consultations with a psychologist/coach, classes with a speech therapist, and group parent-child classes with a psychologist was provided to 40 adult participants and 40 children.

In total, over 300 children and almost 100 adults were reached by the project’s activities over the course of three months. These are children and mothers with children from IDPs, military families, volunteers, etc.

Until the end of 2023, the NGO "Happy Children" will work with its target audience in the format of individual and group parent-child psychological counseling, classes with a speech therapist for preschool children with speech disabilities, "Power of the Carpathians" retreats at recreational facilities, group art therapy classes in ceramics and drawing for women and children, creative excursions for children, and a winter day camp for primary school children. In addition, the "Workshop of St. Nicholas’s Helpers", which has already become traditional for the NGO, is planned. All the details about the conditions of participation in the events and their content can be found on the Facebook page of the NGO "Happy Children", where the latest information is constantly updated.

As a reminder, the project "Improving the Protection of Children in Emergencies in Ukraine by Providing Safe Shelters, Food and Non-Food Items, and Psychosocial Support" is being implemented by the Charitable Organization "Charity Fund "Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya" with the support of "terre des hommes Deutschland e.V." and funding from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.

Photo: NGO "Happy Children"