Support for Ukrainian children and families

3.8 million people are currently internally displaced in Ukraine, and since February 2022, 745 children have been killed and over 2,300 injured, according to the UN. Erikshjälpen supports children and families in Ukraine through humanitarian and long-term interventions both those who have fled within the country and those who remain in severely affected regions.

Together with local partner organisations , we partner organisations safety and protection to children and families through emergency aid and acute psychosocial support.

Psychosocial support for children and families

We give children and parents the opportunity to meet with psychologists to process and rehabilitate war trauma. Through our local partner organization WCU, we have established child-friendly family hubs in all areas where we work. At the hubs, children can participate in various leisure activities while receiving support from psychologists, for example through art therapy. Here, particularly vulnerable groups, such as children with disabilities, also have the opportunity to integrate into society.

Education after missing school

Several children say that it is difficult to meet friends outside school hours and describe how their health has deteriorated due to loneliness. In our child-friendly family hubs, children can socialize with each other in their free time and also catch up on missed schoolwork.

Children's rights and personal initiatives

We support children in taking their own initiatives to improve and build up their communities. This can involve sports and leisure activities, renovating playgrounds, or campaigns children's rights and violence prevention. These interventions on children's own ideas about how they want to engage other children and be active citizens.

Training for teachers and parents

We support training programs for parents and teachers so that they, in turn, can support children's mental health and help them overcome trauma.

Through nonviolent communication (NVC), conflict management, and tailored forms of therapy, children are given the opportunity to express their feelings and needs. These efforts help to create a sense of community and cooperation among the children.

interventions violence

We support social workers, psychologists, educators, and police officers who deal with cases of violence against children, including sexual violence. To ensure children's right to protection and rehabilitation, it is crucial that these specialists work in a coordinated manner.

interventions cold

Many families in Ukraine lack warmth and security due to destroyed homes and damaged infrastructure such as electricity and water supplies. We provide families with vital support against the cold by distributing blankets, warm clothes, LED lamps, thermos flasks, food, and heaters.

We also distribute power banks that enable children to charge their phones and computers so they can participate in remote schooling even during power outages. Families with children who have functional variations receive portable power stations that provide basic lighting, keep the internet running, and enable the charging of necessary assistive devices.