The project to help children from the East starts in Uzhgorod

As of February 25, officially there are 3476 IDPs in Transcarpathia, including 868 children. Some of them came to Transcarpathia, when active operations were already taking place in the East. These children, having unwittingly become witnesses of those terrible events, require, on the one hand, professional support, and on the other hand, the companionship of their peers and adults. This was one of the reasons for representatives of the NGO "Happy Children" to launch the project "Social and psychological adaptation of IDPs with children in the new community, integration into the Transcarpathian community." Representatives of the NGO told that at th press conference in Uzhgorod.

"Now all the attention is focused on the East of the country. Since women’s hearts always ache for their own and other people’s children, we decided to do something good for those who, unfortunately, have to be called "children of war". We know that many minors in Luhansk and Donetsk regions lived and are living in poor conditions. Some of them for a long time were living in basements. Therefore, we conducted a campaign to collect toys. Then we decided to pay attention to those children who have come from there. And so this program was initiated", – the head of the NGO "Happy Children" Olga Pavlova said. 

According to a member of the board of the NGO Lyudmila Syuzyeva, the following are planned as part of the project: a round table with representatives of the regional state administration and other government agencies; meetings with prominent personalities who would tell about the history, culture, literature, customs of Transcarpathia; tours for adults and children; series of sessions with a psychologist and play therapy.       

"I am pleased that the program provides activities not only for children but also for their parents. For, in addition to what we are doing on our part, the parents have to work with us too. It would be a wrong approach to give us children, put a check mark that they are on rehabilitation, and then show your fears and anxiety at home. Good thing is that local residents with children will also participate in the project, because it provides opportunity to start new relationships and facilitate socialization" – the project participant, psychologist Natalia Bratasyuk said.