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Let’s look back to 2015. Ukraine had been at war for a year — a war officially referred to as the Anti-Terrorist Operation (ATO). For much of the country, life continued as normal, as Russia's invasion was limited to parts of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and carried out unofficially.
Like today, Ukrainians were gradually growing tired of hearing about the war and the fighting. Media coverage of the frontlines, displaced families, and volunteers began to fade. Meanwhile, the lives of children in towns and villages near the frontlines were strikingly different from the peaceful routines of children in other parts of Ukraine.
At that time, Olena Rozvadovska left her position as press secretary for the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights in Ukraine's safe capital [Kyiv] and moved to Sloviansk in the Donetsk region to care for local children. She made this decision because, as she put it, "In ten years, there will be a generation of Ukrainians who grew up during the war, and no one will truly understand them," but she wants to understand.
At that time, Olena Rozvadovska left her position as press secretary for the Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights in Ukraine's safe capital [Kyiv] and moved to Sloviansk in the Donetsk region to care for local children. She made this decision because, as she put it, "In ten years, there will be a generation of Ukrainians who grew up during the war, and no one will truly understand them," but she wants to understand.
Living in a center for displaced persons that provided free housing, Olena traveled throughout the frontline areas. Dressed as a cat, she taught children how to recognize landmines and explained why they must never touch them.
Between 2015 and 2016, with support from the Swiss Foundation for Mine Action, she brought these educational performances to nearly a hundred schools and kindergartens along the frontlines.
Through these encounters, she formed close connections with children, many of whom were not only traumatized by the war but also by the harsh conditions they endured — such as having parents battling addiction.
Olena grew especially attached to certain children, visiting them often, forming bonds, bringing them essential supplies, and sharing glimpses of a life beyond the war. She wants them, too, to have a future. Olena is so close to these children that she can name them individually, for instance, those who remain in dangerous areas like Zaitseve:
"Dima was caught in shelling. Eduard hardly ever left, even during intense bombardments — his baby sister was born recently. Vika grabs your hand and immediately shows you all her toys. Then there's Zhenia and little Kamila, who only visit on weekends. Zhenia is terrified of the shelling. Kamila is afraid to let go of her mother's hand. There's also Adelina, who's 19 and technically no longer a child. And Diana, who I haven't had the chance to meet yet. On the surface, they seem like ordinary kids, but each carries their own trauma from the war."
Back then, while still volunteering, Olena collaborated with Pope Francis's team, which was raising millions of euros for Ukrainians in Eastern Ukraine. She tirelessly advocated for a portion of the funds to be allocated specifically to helping children.
In this state of constant travel between groups of children, Olena spent five years in Luhansk and Donetsk, despite initially planning to stay for only a few months — "until the war was over."
A Meeting and a Film That Changed Everything
"Why don't you start a charitable foundation?" Olena's friends would occasionally ask her, recognizing the scale of her work. However, she preferred to stick to her established approach.
Everything changed when she met journalist Azad Safarov. As a line producer and assistant director, he and Danish filmmaker Simon Lereng Wilmont were planning to film a documentary about Donbas and were therefore seeking contact details for children affected by the war.
This was the duo's second collaboration; Simon had previously directed another film about Ukraine, The Distant Barking of Dogs, which was shortlisted for an Oscar in 2019. Olena agreed to help with the documentary and joined the production team as a consultant.
For the filming, they chose a temporary orphanage in Lysychansk (officially known as the Lysychansk Center for Social and Psychological Assistance). Thanks to Olena, the team secured filming permissions, and production began in April 2019.
Olena, together with a team of psychologists, worked closely with the film directors to ensure that all interactions with the children are handled appropriately and ethically. Many of the children in the orphanage had ended up there due to parental neglect. Just forty (40) kilometers away loomed the front line of the war. At that time, there were no active combat operations, but the distant echoes of explosions could still be heard.
Parents were given nine months to address their addictions and improve their living conditions, at which point the children would be returned to their families. However, in most cases, the parents fail to engage or re-establish contact. In such cases, the children are taken in by extended family, placed with foster families, or, in the worst-case scenario, sent to orphanages.
It is still painful for the orphanage's caregivers to watch the children waiting for mothers who promised to visit but almost never showed up. This emotional devastation was exactly what the filmmakers aimed to highlight — the lives of children caught between two wars: one waged by Russia and the other unfolding in their homes due to parents who neglected them. The filmmakers filmed the children's daily lives and struggles up until October 2020.
The film tells the story of three children temporarily separated from their parents and the caregivers who dedicate themselves to creating a safe space near the front line at a local Social and Psychological rehabilitation Center. As the acclaimed American film review website Roger Ebert notes, the documentary reveals that "not all casualties of war appear on the battlefield."
"A 12-year-old girl shares how her drunken father would beat her mother and tried to hit her younger siblings. She stepped in, putting herself in harm's way, so he would strike her instead," says Safarov, "And yet, despite everything, the children still miss their parents, no matter what they have done. Children call them repeatedly, asking, 'When will you come to see me?'"
The film is titled A House Made of Splinters. Azad persuades others that he will present the film at every possible film festival, because these events attract people who are genuinely interested in supporting individuals featured in documentaries. However, he acknowledges that they would prefer to offer help through a charitable foundation, as the concept of "volunteering" as a form of charity is less familiar to foreigners.
That was the moment Olena first seriously considered establishing a foundation. On her own, she could help up to a hundred children — but with the potential of a charitable foundation, that number could grow exponentially.
She makes a decisive move. On December 3, 2019, together with Azad Safarov, Olena officially registered the "’Voices of Children’ Charitable Foundation”.
Why is the word "voices" used in the name Voices of Children? Because the Foundation aims to amplify the voices of children specifically. It reflects what the founders experienced as children, when their voices went unheard.
Starting from scratch, Olena delved into learning fundraising, financial reporting for procurement, strategic planning, all while gathering a team of like-minded individuals. She drew on the extensive network she had built in Eastern Ukraine, which included children, parents, kindergartens, schools, and local officials. These connections became the cornerstone of the Foundation's future work.
"I had to become a one-woman powerhouse — managing endless documents, payments, financial reports, and reports for donors. I never imagined there would be so much paperwork! But the Foundation became a natural continuation of my personal work as a human rights advocate. We gained the means to make children's voices heard louder than ever before," Olena reflects.
Three years after filming began, the documentary garnered a number of awards, in particular the Dragon Award Best Nordic Documentary at the Göteborg Film Festival in Sweden as well as the Best Directing award in the international documentary competition at the renowned Sundance Film Festival in the United States.
Simultaneously with the Foundation's establishment, it began providing psychological support to children traumatized by the war, as well as to their parents. Over time, the Foundation secured the resources to compensate psychologists for their work. Currently, about forty (40) psychologists work here, providing daily therapy sessions to children and parents, both online and in person.
Prior to the full-scale war, Voices of Children focused its efforts on aiding children specifically in the eastern part of Ukraine — in the small towns and villages of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions within Ukrainian-controlled territories.
"Our activities were spread along the front line in fact, reaching the most remote towns and villages, which are in fact destroyed now,"
Since 2019 and until the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Foundation has supported up to 1,000 children each year through various programs. Some of them received food packages, while others participated in art therapy sessions organized in schools.
At that time, the team consisted of approximately 15 people — local community members who lived and worked there, along with Olena and Azad.
Full-Scale War
In the days leading up to the full-scale invasion, the Foundation's centers located near the frontlines realised that combat activity was intensifying, as a result, they suspended their operations.
A psychologist from the Foundation in Sloviansk [city] provided active support to residents of Stanytsia Luhanska [rural settlement], who were relocating to the city in large numbers, as Sloviansk was considered a safer place at the time.
"But then, on February 24, Kyiv happened, [marking the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine]. That same day, all our colleagues in the area evacuated — however they could, using whatever transportation they could find. Later, all our colleagues in Sloviansk also evacuated. We quickly opened an office in Lviv. At that time, I was in Truskavets, and the city started receiving trains from Kyiv and Kharkiv," Olena Rozvadovska recalls.
By March 1, the Voices of Children team had begun working in the schools of Truskavets, where involuntary displaced persons slept on mattresses and carpets — on whatever was available. The challenges the team had previously faced in frontline-adjacent areas suddenly grew exponentially in scale.
Azad and Olena were persuading the psychologists they had worked with previously not to leave the country and were urgently looking for sponsors to cover housing costs for the team in Lviv. They understood that, otherwise, there will be no one to help the children [in Ukraine].
The Foundation begins receiving more support through donations. One day, they notice thousands of emails in the Foundation’s inbox — from foreigners writing to offer help and sending financial aid. There were so many that, at one point, the payment processing system even struggles to handle the number of transfers.
"The majority of donations were coming from the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany. For us, this was transformative — it allowed us to stop worrying about fundraising and instead focus on how to help as many people as possible, as quickly as possible," Olena recounts.
Oprah Winfrey later writes about the Foundation in her blog, and Madonna donates proceeds from an auction of her project. As a result even more people learn about the work of Voices of Children and donations surge once again.
This influx of funds enabled the opening of centers in Lviv, Truskavets, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Berehove, Kryvyi Rih, and Kharkiv, along with a central office in Kyiv.
The centers became hubs of daily support, where psychologists provided free assistance to anyone in need. The team was acutely aware that the war was taking an increasing toll on children's well-being.
"We now have 16 centers where people can come and sign up for free group or individual counseling. Each month, about 1,000 children come through our doors — some are coming for the first time, while others for the third or fourth. We also provide online support, including a Helpline and a Telegram bot, which is especially useful for families who have gone abroad. We receive around 150 online requests per month," Olena shares, reflecting on the Foundation's work as of May 2024.
In April 2022, Forbes ranked the most effective charitable foundations and organizations supporting Ukrainians and the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Voices of Children earned a spot in the top 10, having raised 68.3 million UAH (around 2.3 million USD) by that time.
A House Made of Splinters and the Oscar Nomination
In 2023, the film A House Made of Splinters, which depicts children’s life in a temporary orphanage near the front lines and was filmed before the full-scale war, was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. This marked the second time a Ukrainian co-produced documentary to earn an Oscar nomination, following the 2016 film Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom, which was nominated for its portrayal of the Euromaidan protests. The film was screened at 15 international film festivals.
"The documentary became a powerful advocacy tool, drawing global attention to the struggles of children affected by Russia's aggression and the need to dismantle outdated Soviet-era institutions namely orphanages," explained Azad Safarov. The film has been covered by international media outlets. The Guardian called it "An extraordinary film about vulnerable Ukrainian children," while The New York Times writes that the movie was filmed "With exemplary tact and sensitivity, weaving a heartbreaking tapestry that also glows with empathy and even shows glimmers of mischief and delight." Variety referred to it as "A heart-tugging documentary portrait of children in limbo."
"In meetings at all the screenings and press conferences, we experienced a lot of support and care. Everyone approached us with questions like: how can we help? They all wanted to know how they could be of help to us. They were all asking what had happened to the children and the current situation in Ukraine," Azad Safarov recalls.
Safarov says that the Oscar nomination is not the end of the journey but rather a springboard to bring attention to what is happening in Ukraine: "Of course, from a human perspective, we wished we had won the Oscar. However, being listed as one of the five nominees selected from thousands of documentaries for such a prestigious award is already a good achievement. I feel content that a film addressing such profound and painful social issues — war and family adversity — was shown on big screens around the world," Olena Rozvadovska said.
The film literally changes the life of one of its protagonists. At one of the first screenings, a man sees the teenager Kolia, and shortly after welcomes him into his family, saying he "Saw Kolia as his second son," Safarov shares.
"Unfortunately, it is not common for older children to be taken into guardianship. Younger children are chosen more often. Kolia is a wonderful boy. In the film, you can see the struggle between angels and demons within him. He is both a troublemaker and a caring brother," Safarov says. Kolia's younger brother and sister are also adopted, but they live in different families.
Safarov received another recognition that same year. In September 2023, the British television channel Sky News won the Emmy Award for Best News Program at the 44th News & Documentary Emmy Awards for their report The Lost Souls of Bucha, which Safarov co-produced alongside another Ukrainian journalist. (The report is known as The Battle for Bucha & Irpin in Ukrainian.)
One of the World's 100 Most Influential Women
In November 2023, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) released its annual list of 100 influential and inspiring women (BBC 100 Women 2023). Three Ukrainian women made the list, including child rights advocate Olena Rozvadovska.
That same month, in honor of its anniversary, the Ukrainian independent news media outlet Hromadske awarded 10 Ukrainians who have influenced the history of Ukraine. Olena Rozvadovska is also present on this list of nominees.
Through the Eyes of Children: The Book That Will Be Read Around the World
For the anniversary of the full-scale invasion, the Foundation released a book featuring one hundred quotes from children about the war. The quotes were carefully collected, recorded, and preserved over years of working with children.
Artists from Ukraine and abroad, as well as children supported by the Foundation — from Chasiv Yar, Avdiivka, and Mariupol — contributed to the creation of the book. Each of them helped shape the book's visual design, creating illustrations, drawings, or photographs that conveyed the children's quotes included in the book.
Among those who contributed to the initiative were Jamala, Yevhen Klopotenko, Oleksandr Hrekhov, Nikita Titov, Serhii Maidukov, Iryna Vale, Danylo Movchan, and Sviatoslav Vakarchuk — prominent figures in Ukraine's cultural and artistic communities.
The book Through the Eyes of Children was published in both Ukrainian and English and presented at Ukrainian embassies around the world to ensure as many people as possible learn about the lives of Ukrainian children.
The book was presented at the European Parliament in Brussels, alongside an annual monitoring report documenting crimes committed by Russians against children throughout the year. During the event, Azad Safarov, co-founder of the Foundation, read a letter from a boy living in Russian-occupied territory to European officials. It made a profound impact on them.
You can get the book by making a donation on the Voices of Children website. All proceeds are being directed toward ongoing psychological and psychosocial rehabilitation for children affected by the war.
"What are these voices of children about? They are about sorrow, hope, and faith. They are about love for their parents and their homeland. We came across many meaningful quotes from children. Where this wisdom comes from — I do not know. Perhaps from everything that is happening, from a collective understanding that this war is truly about our values, our freedom, and our spirit," Olena shares.
At the London Book Fair (LBF) in April 2023, one of the world’s largest publishing houses, HarperCollins Publishers, became interested in the book by the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation.
Following an agreement with the Foundation, the American publisher obtained the rights to translate the book into all available languages — except Russian and Belarusian.
In October 2024, the book Through the Eyes of Children, featuring quotes from children, was officially released in the United States. This marked the first time in publishing history that a book by a Ukrainian charitable foundation was published by an international publisher.
"HarperOne, a publishing imprint of HarperCollins, is thrilled to share this powerful book with readers around the world," says Judith Curr, President of HarperOne Group and Publisher, "This moving and unforgettable book allows us to see what it feels like to be a child living in a country, in a city under siege — or in a foreign city or country far from everything they have known and loved — all through the words of children. Some quotes are filled with hope, while others with sadness and fear. Together, they offer readers of all ages a deeper understanding of the consequences of war."
A portion of the proceeds from each copy sold will be directed toward providing psychological support for Ukrainian children affected by the war. The book is available for purchase on the publisher's website, as well as on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Bookshop, Target, and Walmart.
The Children’s Creative Council
To stay focused amidst the Foundation’s many initiatives, everyday tasks and uphold its commitment to children’s right to be heard, the Voices of Children team established a special advisory body—the Children’s Creative Council (CCC).
This council brings together children from various regions of Ukraine to discuss important issues affecting their lives. It gives them a voice and actively involves them in decision-making processes.
The CCC operates in a fully adult manner, with a chairperson, secretary, project managers, and social media specialists. Veronika Sheldahaieva from Kherson, who leads the Council, even addressed members of the British Parliament to share her experiences of living in areas occupied by Russian forces.
The Council also organises creative activities, such as a meeting with a mentor from the United States and showcasing their own short films during the finals of the Cinemoteen Teen Film Festival. “We launched Cinemoteen to show the world what worries us,” said Maria, the festival’s founder and a CCC member.
Many children supported by the Foundation later become volunteers themselves, helping those in need. They are often welcomed into the Foundation’s team, as was the case with Ryta from Avdiivka.
“We first met Ryta when she was 11. She was among the first children I met in the East [of Ukraine] at the end of 2015. Since then, we have been friends with her and her grandmother. It is an incredible feeling to see her grow up. She is 20 now,” Olena reminisced. During both the ATO period and the full-scale invasion, Olena helped Ryta and her grandmother evacuate to safer locations. Ryta later began working with the Foundation to assist children and eventually joined as an official team member. The Foundation even helped her organise her wedding, and she is now expecting her first child.
Work with Children Deported to Russia
Only 388 Ukrainian children, out of those forcibly taken to Russia from the occupied territories, have been returned to Ukraine. As of September 2024, the official number of deported children stands at 19,546.
The most affected are orphans and children deprived of parental care. These figures come from the study “(Non)return of Children: Ukraine in the Face of the Greatest Challenge Since Independence”, conducted by the Voices of Children Charitable Foundation in partnership with the Civil Association Ukrainian Child Rights Network and the NGO Regional Center for Human Rights (RCHR). Despite the complexity of the process of returning these children, they require an equally complicated and lengthy process of rehabilitation and adaptation once back in Ukraine.
“The primary basic needs of returned children include accommodation, support from a social worker and a case manager, legal assistance, and community engagement. This is a set of basic services after being torn away from their roots,” stated Olena Rozvadovska. To address this, the Foundation developed a Concept Paper for Working with Children Deported or Forcibly Displaced to Russia.
This document outlines the creation of optimal conditions for the psychosocial readjustment and rehabilitation of deported or forcibly displaced children to Russia, defines procedures for psychological support, the provision of psychosocial services, and legal regulation and ethical principles regarding the support of such children.
«Голоси дітей» надають психологічну підтримку і супроводжують під час опитування правоохоронцями дітей, які прибули з рф чи окупації відповідно до статті 226 Кримінального процесуального кодексу України.
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