Bouncing back from the war in Ukraine

In the small Ukrainian village of Serednie, children’s laughter is a welcome sight and sound during wartime. Since being torn from their homes, the opportunity for fun has been few and far between.

12-year-old Nastya is ecstatic to regain some sense of normalcy and fun as she plays with the other children taking part in a psychological support group run by UNICEF’s ‘PORUCH’ project. Trained psychologists lead these groups to help war-affected kids and teens work through their fears and find new ways to cope.

“I used to have weekly football classes back home and here I am doing it again, making new friends. Today we practised with the coach, learned to head the ball and make passes” says Nastya after participating in a ‘PORUCH’ play session with her new friends.

The children, after playing a friendly game of football, split into groups to draw and talk about all the things that make them smile. This was a stark difference from the journeys they’ve all endured to get here.

Nastya recalls the terror she felt when the war began.

"I was scared a lot. I was afraid that a missile would hit my home. I realised that children like me died. Even though we were hiding in a basement, it was terrifying. There were a lot of people, many children. Somebody brought us a big mattress and my sister slept there with other children. I was sleeping next to them on a roll-up bed, while our mother slept on a chair.”

9-year-old Veronika, who fled Kyiv with her mother and grandmother, shared similar sentiments.

"When this all started, it was horrifying. We went to a village and we heard gunfire and bombs there. We were even sleeping with our clothes on, so that we could flee if needed. Explosions occurred every day, waking us up. I dream about the war ending so that we can go home. It's nice here and today it was a lot of fun, so I even forgot about the whole situation..”

The ‘PORUCH’ project is helping displaced children feel safe again. We want to provide war torn kids with a feeling of relief, to help them make friends and communicate so they may work through their trauma and look optimistically towards a more stable future.