Author:
Admin
Olena and Azad met in the east of Ukraine long before Russia’s full-scale invasion. Back then, he told her: “In five years, we’ll have a Foundation.” She didn’t believe him. Today, the Voices of Children team works across Ukraine, creates books that are later translated by HarperCollins, runs art labs in the mountains, and is preparing to open a large Childhood Center.
For more than ten years, the philosophy of Voices of Children has remained unchanged: children are individuals with equal rights who deserve to be heard. What has changed is the scale of the work, the budgets, the tools, and the circumstances in which this work takes place.
Teenagers from the Foundation’s creative residencies met with its co-founders to talk about their work and mission, about their inner child and the energy that keeps them going, about welcoming a daughter in the middle of work calls. They also asked what 2026 will look like for the organization, which animal would best fit their roles, and how to preserve joy during wartime.
For more than ten years, the philosophy of Voices of Children has remained unchanged: children are individuals with equal rights who deserve to be heard. What has changed is the scale of the work, the budgets, the tools, and the circumstances in which this work takes place.
Teenagers from the Foundation’s creative residencies met with its co-founders to talk about their work and mission, about their inner child and the energy that keeps them going, about welcoming a daughter in the middle of work calls. They also asked what 2026 will look like for the organization, which animal would best fit their roles, and how to preserve joy during wartime.
The conversation was led by Halyna Kaplenko (17 years old, from Bakhmut, Donetsk region), Tymofii Nebykov (19 years old, from New York, Donetsk region), Veronika Pidpaniuk (16 years old, from Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi region), and Polina Starenka (16 years old, from Vilshany, Kharkiv region).
Who Does What at Voices of Children
- What are your responsibilities at the Foundation?
Olena: I’m the Chair of the Board. I lead the program department and oversee all processes, sign tons of documents, assign tasks to people, and take responsibility for everything I sign and everything I say. Azad leads fundraising and communications, focusing on where our funding comes from and how we communicate about it. And together, we also meet with donors, present the Foundation, do advocacy work, and appear in media.
Azad: I work in communications and fundraising. I look for people and ideas, bring teams together through meetings and conversations, try to see people’s talents and believe in them more than they believe in themselves. I talk about them, even when they’re very modest.
When Olena and I met in the East, she was living in Sloviansk. I told her: “In five years, we’ll have a Foundation,” and she didn’t believe me. In the end, we did it in one month and three years. I also told her she’d make it into the “Top 100 Women of Ukraine” list. She didn’t believe that either, but later she was even included in the “100 Women of the World” list.
My main purpose is to find cool, talented people and support them, so they start believing in themselves.
- Which animal would do your job best, and why?
Azad: Maybe a sloth. Because it would finally sit in one place and calmly do something instead of jumping from one task to another… It would be consistent, calm, and structured.
Olena: Maybe a horse? A wild horse that just runs forward. My favorite animal is a cat, but my job is definitely not cat-like. So, probably a small horse.
- If you could switch roles within the Foundation, what would you choose?
Azad: I’d love to go to our art labs in the mountains. Because it’s beautiful and inspiring there, and you can meet and connect with interesting people. Working in the centers is also great. We often try to visit and listen to children. And I’d definitely want to be a leisure specialist, because I like to laugh and keep things light.
Mission of the Foundation: Why Children Should Be Individuals with Equal Rights
- What does it mean for you to be part of the Voices of Children community?
Azad: For me, it’s a shared mission — changing the world so that children are no longer seen, as they’re often mistakenly described, as “small people.” For me, Voices of Children is a place where we are changing how society sees children. It’s about giving them a sense of support, the ability to speak directly, often without adults, and to stand by their voices.
Children should be recognized as individuals with equal rights, with their own values and opinions that are truly heard.
- The Foundation has been around for a long time. Has your understanding of what children truly need changed over this time?
Olena: No. I think only the challenges and the scale of the problems have changed. Just like 10 years ago, children, teenagers, and youth need attention, acceptance, and to feel that adults hear them. Over time, we adapt the scale, adjust programs, budgets, and specific tools. But the philosophy of our work and our understanding of why we do it remain unchanged.
- What does the team at Voices of Children mean to you?
Azad: We’re very lucky that most of our colleagues joined because they do care about children and want to do something for them. Almost everyone has had a difficult childhood in some way and is trying to work through that by helping others. They don’t need reminders or control. They move things forward themselves.
When Olena and I launched the Foundation — she’s from Truskavets, I’m from Baku — we understood that in both places children are often not truly listened to. Even before the full-scale war, our goal was to help children experience childhood differently. We wanted children to be heard and not be traumatized in the process of growing up. Everyone who has joined our team shares a common goal: to be a source of support for children and give them a chance to grow up differently than we did. Especially now, in times of war.
We try to tell our colleagues: “Take a breath.” But when someone is driven by their mission, you actually enjoy being surrounded by people who don’t work just to tick a box.
Horizontal Model, Shared Philosophy, and Creativity Within the Team
- Do you have any habits or traditions related to launching and being part of Voices of Children?
Azad: I really enjoy our brainstorming. It’s not like leadership comes up with something and everyone else just executes. We have a horizontal model: we come up with ideas together, say “no, that’s nonsense, let’s try something else” together, and discuss.
I believe innovation and creativity emerge where everyone has space to speak.
For example, we collected quotes from children across Ukraine and published the book War Through the Voices of Children. Three months later, one of the largest American publishers, HarperCollins, bought the rights. That’s the first time something like this has happened in Ukraine’s charitable sector. Or the poetry collection Oxygen, created by teenagers together with writer Kateryna Mikhalitsyna, or the short films they produce during residencies…
I think we genuinely enjoy having space for creativity, ideas, and exchange of thoughts. Through that creativity, we try to reach international audiences and also draw attention and fundraise.
I think we genuinely enjoy having space for creativity, ideas, and exchange of thoughts. Through that creativity, we try to reach international audiences and also draw attention and fundraise.
- What remains behind the scenes in humanitarian work but is important to know about?
Azad: Blood, sweat, and tears :). To keep providing support, we have to work a lot. We need to ensure the functioning of regional centers, organize art labs, camps, and more. Sometimes it’s a huge amount of bureaucratic work, as well as constant fundraising. For example, behind every art lab there is a huge effort by mentors, legal and procurement departments, and others. But what people usually see is the joyful part, when it is already underway.
- How do you take care of your inner child, and where do you find energy in such difficult times?
Olena: It’s taken many years to learn how to recover, because emotional resources are not unlimited. And during war, it’s very easy to burn out as the scale of grief is far greater than what the human psyche can hold. And yet, somehow, we endure. I think that is why I don’t see this as just a job. For me, it’s truly a mission and a constant source of motivation. I can’t go out and defeat all our enemies. I can’t stop this war. But you do what you can.
It helps to feel needed. That is a daily routine — helping at least someone, even just one person — that keeps you going, helps you not to break.
And of course, I draw energy from Azad, and Azad draws energy from me. And now we also have our daughter, Leila, and we both draw energy from her. She has so much of it that you could power an entire city.
- What story from your work affected you the most over the past year?
Olena: I haven’t told my colleagues yet how I gave birth. I was finishing up work calls on Zoom when the contractions started. I kept turning the camera on and off. I needed to finish everything. I really don’t like leaving things unfinished. We went to the maternity hospital, and I gave birth right away. It was funny — the Foundation’s life is intertwined with our own.
Plans for 2026: Childhood Center, Children’s Room, Art Labs
- Tell us please about your plans for 2026. What would be especially important for you to accomplish?
Azad: Definitely to build the Childhood Center. It will be a rehabilitation center — a unique space for childhood in Ukraine, where we’ll be able to run our programs, camps, workshops, art labs, and psychological support sessions, and create an environment that is welcoming and inclusive for everyone. We also want to create a children’s room in our office as we’ve had a bit of a baby boom. Several team members have already had children, so it’s time to think about space for them, too. And we want to expand our art labs, too.
- If this year were a natural phenomenon for the Foundation, what would it be? And what kind of weather do you expect next year?
Olena: During one interview, I was asked what was going on at the Foundation, and I said: everything, all at once. If I were to describe this year as weather, it would be snowfall, a blizzard, black ice, and sunshine with rain at the same time — winter in the middle of summer and summer in the middle of autumn. Everything at once, in a time like this. We don’t make forecasts; we simply live this life.
As for my forecast, of course everyone longs for calm and a light breeze, but I understand it will not be like that. I suppose we’ll keep going through a whole range of “natural phenomena” and still find joy in them, because even a storm can be beautiful, and you can have fun sliding on ice.
I think Azad and I have learned to face any kind of “weather” with love, joy, and gratitude. That is why I don’t even check weather forecasts: why know what tomorrow will bring? I’ll wake up and be glad. And I hope the Foundation will also remain ready for any weather and will be grateful for it.
Share:
