Keeping children safe and reducing trauma in the midst of war
Serhii Lukashov, national director of SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine, explains here how they trying to find fun ways of ensuring the children in their care know how to keep themselves safe.
This kind of preparation is unfortunately not just for fun – the children and families in Ukraine live in constant danger.
Heavy fighting and shelling continue across several towns and cities in Ukraine, with increasing human costs and humanitarian consequences. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has recorded at least 550 civilian casualties, including
142 deaths.
The impact of this fighting is making people’s already fragile situation even worse. Damage and destruction to water, electricity and sanitation facilities, as well as roads and residences has been reported across several areas, shattering people’s lives and disrupting access to these vital services for hundreds of thousands.
Around 400,000 people have been reportedly left without electricity in Donetsk and Horlivka on both sides of the “contact line”. More than 40,000 people around Horlivka have no access to water. A school in Donetsk and a children’s centre in Sievierodonetsk also reportedly came under fire. Access to shops, markets, healthcare and basic facilities in areas of active fighting also remains severely affected.
An estimated 874,026 Ukrainian refugees have fled to neighbouring countries, with that number rising hour by hour.
The refugees to other countries need urgent mental health and trauma support; basic items such as food and money, as well as education and health services. The freezing winter temperatures mean emergency items such as heaters, warm clothes and shoes are a priority.
Our teams in Ukraine and neighbouring countries are helping children and families right now, and will be there for them for as long as they need.
