"Where there is no war": how an Italian vacation helped children from Ukraine heal their souls

– Is that a drone or a missile flying?
– Don’t worry, there’s no war here. There are no drones or missiles flying here.

Such conversations between Ukrainian children are often heard abroad. For them, this is not just a vacation — it’s a chance to leave behind, even for a few days, the anxiety, fear, shelling, and loss. From June 29 to July 17, 96 children traveled to Italy, including 14 from Konotop.

Just two weeks before the trip, during a massive attack on Konotop, the father of a girl named Maria (name changed for ethical reasons) was killed. The trauma was still very fresh, and her mother was afraid to let her go to camp — but eventually she made the difficult decision. During the trip, the girl celebrated her birthday, made new friends who helped distract her and ease her grief. She returned home a different person, and her mother was deeply grateful for this opportunity.

Another girl, Liza (name changed), experienced a traumatic event at the beginning of the full-scale invasion. During the occupation of Konotop, she was left alone — her mother had gone to Kyiv for work the day before and couldn’t return because of the movement of enemy troops. The girl suffered greatly from this experience, but during the trip she was finally able to open up, feel safe, and begin to let go of the pain.

We are sincerely grateful to Caritas Italiana for giving these children the chance to feel safe.