Although the war in Ukraine has almost disappeared from the media, the conflict still goes on. At the front, shooting continues and up to 60 houses are damaged every week.
OSCE data state that over 400 people were killed since the start of 2017. The continuous shooting has created an atmosphere of fear, that severely limits social life.
Children, of which the UN contends there more than 500,000 in the war area, are especially affected. Many children are traumatised. They have sleeping and development disorders and suffer under their parents’ stress.
Through this year’s collection we aim to support children living directly at the Eastern Ukrainian front.
We want to create safe and creative spaces for the young. Our Ukrainian partner organisation
Vostok SOS has selected five projects:
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(1) Zolotoe – Up until this day, shooting in Zolotoe continues. To offer the children some distraction, an afternoon centre for art and creativity was started in a cellar. The volunteers, who improvise as much as they can, however lack materials to work with.
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(2) Toshkovka – The war has almost entirely cut off the village from regional infrastructure. Nevertheless, the children and youth centre “Lighthouse” in the village is the only youth centre in the near environment. We want to replace the all too often repaired music installation.
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(3) Voitovo – The school in Voitovo is closed and the children are brought to a neighbouring village on a daily basis. Often the school bus however does not go. Parents and other volunteers are trying to make the former culture centre of the village into a centre of children. The authorities have approved the project, but there are no means to renovate the heavily damaged building.
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(4) Shchaste – The daily environment of children in Shchaste is dominated by armed soldiers, military vehicles and checkpoints. We therefore want to organise continuous psychological support for the children and their parents.
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(5) Stanitsa Luganskaya – There are two schools in Stanitsa Luganskaya but no place for children with disability. Volunteers have started a development centre to ensure their personal and social development, but appropriate materials are lacking.
