Author:
Khrystyna Tymofiichuk
On June 5, in the village of Dzvinkove (Kyiv region), the Voices of Children Foundation ceremonially launched the construction of a one-of-a-kind Psychological Rehabilitation Center for children and parents who have experienced the traumatic effects of the war.
At the future site of the Center—where construction will begin this summer—a symbolic time capsule was laid. It contained written wishes for children’s futures, contributed by event guests, including representatives of human rights organizations, local authorities, government institutions, businesses, and diplomatic missions.
At the future site of the Center—where construction will begin this summer—a symbolic time capsule was laid. It contained written wishes for children’s futures, contributed by event guests, including representatives of human rights organizations, local authorities, government institutions, businesses, and diplomatic missions.
The Childhood Center will offer both individual and group psychological and psychotherapeutic support. It will feature sensory rooms to help children overcome sensory processing difficulties, as well as art studios for drawing, sculpting, music, dance, poetry, and more.
There will be dedicated spaces for free play and play therapy, as well as areas for parents to receive help, support, and knowledge to aid their recovery and foster healthy interactions with their children.
There will be dedicated spaces for free play and play therapy, as well as areas for parents to receive help, support, and knowledge to aid their recovery and foster healthy interactions with their children.
The Center will consist of a complex of buildings designed for residential stays, including permanent shelters, equipped sleeping quarters, and specialized rooms for art therapy, sensory integration, psychotherapy, and psychological counseling. Special attention will be paid to recreational activities. Specific programs will be offered for mothers with children—in particular those whose husbands are missing or in captivity,
Following the symbolic launch of construction, a panel discussion titled “How to Save Childhood in a Time of War” occurred. Participants included the Foundation’s co-founders, Olena Rozvadovska and Azad Safarov; Head of the Coordination Center for the Family Upbringing and Child Care Development, Iryna Tuliakova; Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties, Oleksandra Romantsova; Child psychologist and psychiatrist Nataliia Masiak; and children supported by the Foundation who have been directly affected by the war.
We’re already seeing a rise in requests for psychological and psychotherapeutic help—and we know that this number will only grow. Every day of war adds negative effects. Spaces like our Center are not a luxury—they are a fundamental necessity,
Through its programs, the Foundation has provided psychological support to children and families for 10 years. For example, Inna Kendzor, the widow of a fallen soldier, attended last year’s Camp+—retreat for wives and children of Ukraine’s defenders—with her two sons. During the event, she shared her story.
First of all, we’re still in touch with the other women—and that helps you realize you’re not alone. Unfortunately, we’re not taught to seek psychological support. We’re taught to go to the trauma clinic if we sprain an ankle, to see a doctor when our body hurts—but not when our soul does. And I believe this future Center will be a major breakthrough in helping our society not be afraid to see a psychologist,
In the future, the Center will employ specialists to provide individual and group support. It will also host educational and integration programs and emergency crisis assistance. Creating such centers is vital for the country. Helping children affected by war is not only about immediate care—it’s a long-term investment in Ukraine’s future.
Every child has lived through traumatic experiences, and we must create our own scientific groundwork—our own guidelines for working with children. The Voices of Children Foundation plays a key role here: it offers an opportunity to research and analyze the work, observe how children respond individually and in groups, and identify the best methods to support their recovery,
With each passing day of the war, the number of children in need of professional psychological help continues to rise. Each year, the Center will be able to support more than 1,000 children and adults. It will be a hub of long-term, systematic assistance—a place not just to “live through” but to heal truly—in balance with nature, in a forested, green area with clean air and peace. The Center will welcome its first visitors in August 2026.
Unfortunately, because of the war, Ukraine has become a place where we are forced to develop new approaches to working with children and adults. But for the world, Ukraine is now a crucial space for gathering unique data and experience for research. We will collaborate with Ukrainian and international institutions to conduct such research. We are already implementing some of our projects and plan to scale our efforts. Additionally, in our Center, we will train urgently needed professionals—psychologists and recreation specialists, who are critically lacking in Ukraine today,
When we talk about rehabilitation for children, we often hear: “Oh, you mean children returned from Russia.” But I always say—no, that’s not all. The real focus is the generation that will grow up and become young professionals, the generation that will face and solve the problems we leave for them. And, of course, we will leave some. Because the situation we live in now is not the result of years—but of centuries. There are some things we will manage to fix. Others, we will not. And we cannot guarantee that our children—even after the best possible rehabilitation—will enter a world free of challenges. The world will still be full of challenges, injustice, and ambiguity. But if we do not now invest in them—in resources, knowledge, role models, skills, and, above all, support—we will miss our chance. A mentally healthy mother, for example, is already a lesson. It’s already a model of how to care for oneself, how to recover, how to live. And it is these young people who will make the decisions after us. If we do this right, they will be stronger than us, wiser than us, and able to solve problems we won’t even live to see,
The Voices of Children Charitable Foundation is a Ukrainian charitable organization that provides psychological and psychosocial support and humanitarian aid to children and families affected by the war. It helps children cope with the psychological consequences of armed conflict and defends their rights. The organization began as a volunteer initiative in the eastern part of Ukraine 10 years ago and is now one of the most extensive and most systematic Ukraine’s charitable foundations supporting children.
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