Childhood Guardians: Empower Kharkiv and Sumy Families

Author:

Mariia Kucova

June 1st is International Children's Day in many countries. The full-scale war in Ukraine has been ongoing for three years now, and every child needs our protection.

During this time, 75% of children have suffered mental trauma due to the war, and 40% have difficulty accessing education.

In May, Russian troops intensified their activities in eastern and northern Ukraine, resuming their offensive in Kharkiv region and intensifying rocket attacks in the Sumy region. Russian troops are located just 30 kilometers from Kharkiv, as a result of this, the alarm lasted for almost 13 days in May.

Children's anxiety has increased, and they need constant psychological stabilization due to frequent shelling,
says Alyona Chyryk, Regional Coordinator of "Voices of Children" in the East.

Childhood Guardians: Empower Kharkiv and Sumy Families — Image 1

Childhood Guardians: Empower Kharkiv and Sumy Families — Image 2

Childhood Guardians: Empower Kharkiv and Sumy Families — Image 3

More than 9,300 people, including 800 children, have already evacuated from the Kharkiv region, and 6,527 people, including 1,056 children, have left the 5-km zone in the Sumy region.

People are leaving the border areas en masse. This time, they didn’t need much convincing. Having endured one military occupation by Russians, they never want to experience it again,
comments Azad Safarov, co-founder of “Voices of Children”, who returned from Kharkiv region.

"Voices of Children" has three centers in Kharkiv and a mobile team that provides psychological and psychosocial support. We provide humanitarian aid to residents of the Sumy region and organize online sessions with psychologists.

Your contributions from May 24th to June 24th will help us provide vital support to families in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions. Become a guardian for childhood protection. Help Ukrainian families overcome the consequences of the war.

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