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The Children's Voices charitable foundation has launched an all-Ukrainian social campaign that encourages parents to listen to their children when they talk about difficult experiences related to the war. The heroes of the social campaign are real children from different regions of the country who told their own stories of living during the war. Billboards and commercials on television, radio, and public transport have already been placed in 13 regions.
More than 46% of children do not talk to their parents about their experiences. These data were presented by the U-Report platform and the Voices of Children Foundation at a press conference held at the Ukraine Crisis Media Center on November 22. Previously, they had conducted a joint study, during which they interviewed about 800 children across the country.
"Almost every second child we interviewed does not talk to their parents and guardians about difficult experiences, emotions, and feelings. 21% of children believe that their parents will not understand them, 18% of them said they do not trust their parents enough, 12% said that their problems can be devalued, and 8% said that it is not common in their families to talk about their emotions and experiences," Yaroslava Katolyk, UNICEF U-Report Ukraine communications manager, shared the results of the study.
To help children overcome the psychological consequences of war, it is important to know about their experiences, emotions, and traumas caused by war, said Olena Rozvadovska, co-founder and chairman of the board of the Voices of Children Foundation. The campaign "Do you hear what it is about?" is an appeal to parents and guardians. They are the closest environment for children living in very difficult life circumstances. They can create an atmosphere of trust and support in which a child can overcome the consequences of war and deal with things that are difficult even for adults.
"We encourage parents, guardians, and other adults to be attentive to what children are going through, and what they share. Our posters depict a conditional translator: what the child says and what it might mean if translated into the language of psychological needs. A common routine phrase can often indicate a huge need for attention or support. All of us are humans, and it is not always possible to find a solution on our own. In such cases, we advise you to seek professional psychological support," Olena added.
The uniqueness of this social campaign is that it is based on the real stories of seven children. The youngest of them - Mark, Sashko, and Zlata - are 7 years old, and the oldest, Victoria, is 17 years old. Some of them survived the occupation, others lost their homes, and some have relatives at war. All the participants of the campaign tell Ukrainians how the war has changed them and what kind of support they expect from their loved ones.
"I met the beginning of the large-scale war in a Kherson college dormitory. It was scary. In March, my parents and I left the occupation and went to Lviv. It was psychologically difficult to adapt. A constant feeling of fear, and lack of security. You can't plan your life even for one day, because you don't know when a rocket might strike. It was this uncertainty of what was next that led me to a dead end. I know that many teenagers are going through the same thing now and are left alone with it. I want to tell everyone that sharing your experiences with others is not scary, but necessary. Because if you keep everything to yourself, it only gets harder," said Victoria Solomenko, a 17-year-old participant in the social campaign "Do you hear what is it about?"
The Voices of Children Foundation has provided psychological, psychosocial, and rehabilitation assistance to 64,000 children and parents since the beginning of the full-scale war. More than 12 thousand children have received professional psychological support.
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