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The Voices of Children Foundation has been helping children affected by war in Ukraine since 2015. They provide psychological and psychosocial support to children to help them overcome the consequences of armed conflict. Today, during the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, they are providing non-stop assistance to affected children and families from all over the country, providing emergency psychological assistance, and assisting in the evacuation process. 52andChange will provide the total amount of micro-donations raised directly to Voices of the Children.
52andChange is a microgiving platform ($1-$10). To give larger donations directly, please follow the links at the bottom of this page.
"It was scary. At some moment we decided we had to run away."
For more than a month, the children of two family-type orphanages were under shelling from the Russian army. They left Lysychansk under the sound of enemy explosions.
20 children refugees aged 4 to 15 were recently evacuated to Lviv. For 5 weeks they were forced to hide from shells and bombs in the basement. The younger ones recover from the experience faster than the older ones.
Currently, psychologists of our Voice of Children Foundation work with both children and parents – they conduct individual and group classes.
Due to your support we have also helped to accommodate families and ensure tasty and healthy food for the children.
Thank you for your help.
"Now I'm not afraid of sirens, because I have a teddy-bear with me. He was also afraid. Now we are together and we are not afraid."
The war caught 10-year-old Ulyana in the Lysychansk boarding school. Together with other children they were evacuated to Lviv. It's relatively safe here, but sirens are also heard, just like in 2014, when she and her mother were hiding in the basement.
Our psychologist Natalia Ursu suggested that Ulyana hug a big teddy-bear every time she hears the siren. And it worked. The girl stopped being afraid.
Our psychologists start each lesson with the words: "You have me, I'm here, I'm listening to you." It is extremely important for a child not to feel alone with his/her experiences, that somebody needs him/her, that there is a person to rely upon. Let's be a big teddy bear for each other, hugging whom makes you feel safe.
Children do not see this war as adults. Without the life experience of their parents, without the protective mechanisms that have been developed over the years - they speak about the war sincerely, openly, without hints, as they see and hear it.
"Children of War" ... What a terrible phrase! They are not making global plans - they are dreaming of simple things: how to come back home to their cats and to celebrate this return with their family.
“Here (in the shelter) there is a dog and a lamb, they have food and water. I have three cats at home”, said Natalia, 8 years old.
"My mother was very worried about the house being shot. Dad stayed there. He still works in Kharkiv”, said Masha, 8 years old.
“I like it (the shelter). And I have one cat at home. I dream about coming back home. When I return home, we will celebrate it like a birthday. We’ll buy a cake and candles", Anya, 7 years old.
In these words of children – fragments of their dreams and experiences. We believe that these words will soon remain only as a part of history.
(Translated to English) "We arrived from Irpin, escaped one day before tanks were entering the city," says Iryna, mother of 15-year-old Varya and 9-year-old Oleksiy. "When the safety of children became a priority – we didn’t have time to think. Russians are completely destroying our cities, sweeping away everything in their path. We arrived to Truskavets for now, then we are planing to go to Poland. Here, everybody are extremely caring and hospitable. We have food and everything we need. I am grateful for all the help that is being organized for IPDs. My husband stayed at home. I’m literally afraid for his life and this fear actually paralyze me. I believe that soon this nightmare will be over and we will have to return to rebuild everything. I have mental need to be in Ukraine, my homeland."
Our foundation helped Iryna, her mother and children temporarily to settle down in the shelter for IPDs in Truskavets, provided her financial and psychological support. We wouldn't be able to do this without your support. We want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for awesome work that you do.
Sirens have returned to western Ukraine.
However, the children in the bomb shelters are not discouraged and continue to find interesting activities. Hunter, the dog in the center, was a key figure in the shelter today. He had a kind of press conference thus had to answer millions of children's questions.Hunter, did you eat? Did you jump? Or maybe you want to play with a teddy bear? It is worth mentioning that Hunter was quite a public dog, so he was happy to bark all the answers and wagged his tail non-stop. The interview revealed that all the children in the bomb shelter have their birthdays in spring - in April and May. And the best gift for them is a birthday party in free Ukraine. We look forward to children's birthdays and a peaceful sky over our country.
Together we are the strength.
Thanks to your help, our fund continues to actively support points for temporary stay of refugees in Truskavets in Western Ukraine. Over a few weeks, around 1000 displaced people had the opportunity to rest after an extremely difficult and stressful journey, to eat, warm up and shower. Everyone has their own complex story, and no one loses faith in the fact that they will definitely return home.W e spent about 435 thousand hryvnias to ensure the needs of shelters in Truskavets. 300 thousand of these funds went to the purchase of mattresses, blankets, bedding, food products, hygiene items, pallets for making beds and equipment needed for building centers - boilers, sockets, carryers. Another 135K was spent to purchase 150 mattresses that will be delivered to the centers by the end of next week.In addition to this, we coordinated the direction of humanitarian cargo on 22 tons from our friends from Germany, which is now heading to Truskavets. We are touched by the fact that in extremely difficult times humanity comes together to help those who need it most.
Our children find reasons for happiness even during war. Right now there is a place where they run, play and laugh. This is one of the refugee shelters that our foundation helped organize and set up. Extremely kind Mr. Andriy was inspired by the idea of creating a refugee station in his restaurant. His establishment had 100 sunbeds, which were quickly converted into comfortable beds. Our foundation purchased mattresses, pillows, blankets and bedding. All the necessary household chemicals and some household clothes. The room has a very large area, warm and has its own large kitchen. It is very cozy and comfortable for mothers and children. Now the center has received more than 40 people, and is designed for 100. It was an incredible pleasure for our team to finally see smiles and hope return to tired and scared people. Thank you to everyone who is helping Ukraine now! We will definitely win together. Support us!
Children of bomb shelters...
All Ukrainian kids are now children of the war. The new reality is ruthless. Children, just like adults, feel the fear of war and hide. Instead of a swing outside, they have only an emotional "swing." They remain children and play, but now their main game is "hide and seek," but it's actually just "hiding." From the occupiers who are shelling their country and from those who are killing their peers. The kids are trying to live their bright childhood lives, but underground. In bomb shelters they play, laugh, and sleep… on the floor. War teaches them to fear and hide, but our confrontation teaches them to fight and not give up. And our victory will teach them justice.
Now Ukraine needs you more than ever.
24th of February was life changing for millions of Ukrainians.
Russian aggression broke into every home. Russia is destroying civil infrastructure objects like hospitals, kindergartens, schools, and homes.
People are spending nights in the shelters massively leaving their homes to survive the continuing death threat.
Voices of Children is providing active support to the refugees and needs your help.
We hope we can spread the news and raise a significant amount of money through a lot of people giving a little and sharing a lot.
For those who have limited resources, or want to participate in this collective giving campaign in solidarity and help us raise our match, so we can send at least $9,000 in support to Voices of Children, our platform caps at a $10 gift — but you can also choose to give just $1.*
We also hope the people who have the capacity to give larger amounts directly to Voices of Children do so by clicking here:
https://voices.org.ua/donat/
https://www.patreon.com/voices_org_ua
https://is.gd/M6UfbGhere
52andChange is matching all small donations that come in, dollar for dollar, up to $4,500. The first round of totaled donations + matching funds will be sent 3/21.
To keep informed, please follow the organization’s social media links found in the "Voices of Children" box in the upper right hand corner of this page. Voices of Children is on the frontlines and reporting their experiences daily, as they can.
At 52andChange it’s how we give together, not who can give the most. A lot of small donations can add up to make a big impact. It's the power of collective giving.
* We're often asked if all donations collected for the Cause of the Week go to the featured charity. We're proud to say they do! A standard merchant fee (included in all online credit card transactions) is collected in addition to the contribution, along with a voluntary tip to 52andChange at checkout so we can reach more nonprofits. (We don't charge any fees, for the featured organizations or our users.)
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