The "Our Kids" Centre Is Helping Displaced Children Who Have Fled from the Anti-Terrorist Operation Zone
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The Ukrainian President’s Commissioner for peaceful conflict resolution in Donetsk and Luhansk regions Mrs. Iryna Heraschenko recently reported that women and children made up more than 60 percent of the displaced persons who had fled the combat zone. She also specified that at least 65 children had died and 127 had suffered injuries, including severe wounds, since the beginning of the war in the Donbass. According to Ms. Kristen Elsby, a UNICEF Regional Office for Eastern Europe official, 130,000 children have fled their homes due to the armed conflict in the Donbass. She said that ‘the children were paying the highest price for the current conflict in Ukraine.’ In light of the critical situation in eastern Ukraine, the Centre for Child Protection Our Kids could not afford to ignore the tragic events. The Centre’s priority objective is to protect children’s rights, provide support to families in crisis, and help people facing vulnerabilities. The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine is a challenge to all child protection organizations and services and it’s high time that we rise to the challenge. Since December of 2014, the Our Kids Centre has been providing its assistance to twenty displaced children who had fled from the combat zones in the towns of Schshastia, Luhansk Region, and Debaltseve, Donetsk Region. The children’s last few months in the combat zone were filled with fear of dying, losing access to education, adequate health services, not being able to live a normal life and grow creatively, worrying about family members, and feeling totally alienated. We strive to provide the children with the necessary psychological, correctional, social and medical assistance. The kids are provided with good housing, adequate and sensible nutrition, medical examinations, and treatment as required. We have also made sure that they can develop creatively by giving them opportunities to participate in artistic and sporting projects, attend a ‘cinema lab’ workshop, dance classes, training, etc. At the Centre, every child is placed under a supervision of a psychologist, a social counselor, and other professionals who are always happy to offer their help and support. Our job is to constantly keep in touch with the parents and relatives which helps significantly with the anxiety in kids and their families and we make sure that the parents can visit and spend time with their children or take them home anytime. |
Families:
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We are extremely happy that four of the children have already returned to their parents who have found a new job and settled in other parts of Ukraine. We wish the kids the very best of luck in their new lives, and most importantly, peaceful sky for them and their families. The Our Kids Centre continues to provide its assistance to displaced children who have fled from the combat zone, cater for their safety and well-being, and maintain contact with their families.
As Mahatma Gandhi used to say, ‘if we have to reach real peace in the world, we shall have to begin with the children.’
References:
1. Iryna Herashchenko, Ukrayinska Pravda, 23 Feb., 2015.
2. UNICEF, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty,19 Dec., 2014.