Instilling hope in children's hearts is contributing to the future

Often, those who suffer the most from war are those who should not have understood the meaning of the word at all - children.

Yehor and Mykhailo used to live in Sievierodonetsk, but due to the war, their family was forced to move to another city where their lives would no longer be under constant threat.

"In Sievierodonetsk, I had friends, we used to go to stores and trampolines together. Once, I asked my mom to take me to the trampolines after kindergarten, and I jumped there for half the day," said Mykhailo. "The shelling started, and at first, like everyone else, we thought it would last for two or three weeks, we wanted to wait it out, hiding in the bathroom. But when a missile hit under our house, we realized we had to leave. I was scared that something might happen on the road, the news often showed how they were shelling civilian cars. But when a missile hits the house, there's no other option, we had to leave. In Cherkasy, there aren’t as many explosions, the ballistic shelling mostly happens at night, the children don't hear it, and when a Shahed drone flies, we realize that the shelter is far away, and we sit pressed up against each other, and whatever will be, will be", - shares memories mother of the boys.

The relocation affected the boys’ emotional well-being, so when their parents learned about the psychosocial, speech therapy, and creative activities offered at the Caritas-Spes Cherkasy CFSs, it gave them hope that the boys would be able to adapt to their
new environment. And that’s exactly what happened—Yehor and Mykhailo improved their speech and emotional state, made new friends, and began adjusting to their new life. You can watch their story in video below.

"We do activities in the space, I really like it. Especially when we make something interesting with our hands," said Mykhailo.

"I like working with the speech therapist. But the thing I liked most was the lesson when we made Christmas gifts. I made a gift for my mom," said Yehor.

We are sincerely grateful to Caritas Österreich, NACHBAR IN NOT, Caritas Schweiz, and Caritas Zagrebačke nadbiskupije for the opportunities and prospects provided through the Prote