Year of Child Protection. How to help little Ukrainians and what you can do personally
By presidential decree, Children's Day was moved from June 1 to November 20. We are publishing this text because it was written earlier and because there are no special dates or time frames for this topic.
Children's Day – unfortunately, for the fourth year in a row, this topic is extremely relevant for Ukraine.
What do we have to protect our children from? The answer "from bombs and missiles" is correct, but not exhaustive. Based on the experience of our foundation, I will name a few of the main challenges.
Psychological disorders. Even if a child does not show any noticeable signs of psychological problems, it does not mean that they do not exist. This is especially true for residents of the frontline areas. Therefore, you should not neglect consultations with a professional psychologist.
The Education Gap. Counting from the time of the Covid, schoolchildren in my native Kharkiv have been studying online for five years. This also applies to other regions close to the frontline. The lack of personal contact negatively affects the learning process, so these children are lagging behind their peers who are lucky enough to go to school.
Desocialization. Another problem with online learning is the child's prolonged lack of contact with peers. When such children finally find themselves surrounded by other students, they are often frightened, withdraw, and try to avoid communication.
Loss of childhood. It sounds pretentious, but this is how you can describe all of the above in a nutshell.
We do not know how long the war will last. That is why we have to return childhood to children here and now. Our foundation does this with the support of international donors. The main areas of assistance, in addition to evacuation from dangerous areas, are as follows.
Psychosocial hubs. These are comfortable spaces that are also shelters. Classes and workshops are held with children here, during which young visitors communicate with their peers. As a rule, hubs offer classes for both children and adults. This makes it more convenient for parents with children to visit.
Educational hubs. In fact, it is an offline school where children catch up with the educational gap. The curriculum is created by a methodologist who assesses the level of this gap and conducts trainings for teachers. For high school students, the focus is on subjects included in the NMT. In addition to teachers, psychologists and speech therapists work with younger students .
Outreach events. In small communities where we do not have hubs, we organize outreach events for children. Professional animators come there to conduct theatrical events, relay races, competitions, and outdoor games.
Gifts. Children from the frontline areas are used to living in a world that is trying to kill them. That's why even a small gift for Christmas or Easter is a ray of hope for them.
Not only a large charitable foundation, but every Ukrainian can help children. Here are some tips on how to do it.
Donate for Gifts. You often see appeals in your social networks in the style of "a cup of coffee = a gift for a child". Don't ignore them! Even a small amount of money can make a child in need smile.
Join the action. Philanthropists often involve volunteers in certain events related to helping children. Try to join in – it may be the beginning of your philanthropic career.
Get help. Over the three years of our foundation's work, we have had numerous cases where the recipients of our assistance have gone on to become volunteers themselves. It is possible that your child's participation in a particular charity project will be the impetus for you to act.
Become an employee of the charitable foundation. There is a misconception that charity is a matter for volunteers who do it in their spare time. In fact, the global "industry of good" is a large, well-established system that employs experienced professionals. Check out the vacancies on job portals – perhaps good deeds will become your profession.
