Four new projects co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Caritas were launched in Ukraine

This summer, Slovenia invited 50 children from Ukraine for vacation to Strunjan. Children's vacation is one of four projects launched at the end of June 2023 and funded by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia for a total of €700,000 through a humanitarian strategic partnership with the Slovenian Caritas. The other two projects will contribute to basic humanitarian and psychosocial assistance in the Kharkiv region, and the fourth one is devoted to the completion of a house for youth with disabilities in the Zhytomyr region. Their total value is 750,500 euros, the Slovenian Caritas participating with a share of 50,500 euros.

"Thank you for allowing us to visit Slovenia and escape for a few days from the war, rockets and airstrikes," commented one Ukrainian boy who, together with other children from the Kyiv region, was given the opportunity to rest in Strunjan by the Slovenian Caritas as part of a humanitarian strategic partnership with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia.

With the help of young Caritas animators from Ukraine and Slovenia, who took part in Slovenia's first project to help Ukrainian youth, the children had the opportunity to attend various workshops, travel around Slovenia and at least have a little rest from all the traumas of the war and thereby improve their psychosocial well-being.

The second project "Ensuring the potential of psychosocial assistance to children and adolescents in the Kharkiv region", which is co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Caritas, with a cost of 250,500 euros, is intended for regular psychosocial assistance to children and youth of the Kharkiv region, who were severely affected by the war. As part of the project, a house was purchased in the suburbs of Kharkiv, which will be renovated and equipped, including a playground, and a psychosocial assistance program will be created in it. Groups of children will be able to come to rehabilitation camps throughout the year to gain strength and improve their psychosocial well-being. At the same time, about 30 children and young people will be able to stay in one psychosocial camp in the building, and in general, about 900 children will be able to stay during the year.

The third project "Humanitarian aid for the most vulnerable sections of the population of the Kharkiv region" worth 200,000 euros is intended for more than 4,000 vulnerable households in the Kharkiv region. In villages where shops do not operate, the target group is 464 households, which will receive food and hygiene kits for 3 months, and 3,660 vouchers for the purchase of food and hygiene items will be distributed to households in the city of Kharkiv. The recipients of the vouchers will mostly be internally displaced mothers with children who fled from the occupied territories and live in rented apartments, most of them are unemployed.

The implementation of the fourth project "Completion of the renovation of the house for the rehabilitation of disabled children and youth" is taking place in the Zhytomyr region and is financed in the amount of 240,000 euros. Thanks to the Slovenian assistance, this project will complete the renovation and equipping of this building, and provide conditions for the care and rehabilitation of 90 children and young people with special needs at a time, approximately 1,500 per year. The renovation is planned to be completed in the fall.

Together with new projects in 2023, our Slovenian partners have collected a total of 4,196,455 euros for humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the beginning of the war. Most of the funds were contributed by individuals and more than 240 companies. The Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia contributed EUR 993,939 to the mentioned total aid through a humanitarian strategic partnership with the Slovenian Caritas.

On behalf of the entire Caritas-Spes Ukraine team, we express our sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovenian Caritas for the fact that our partners continue to stand by Ukrainians affected by the war and do everything possible to improve their living conditions.

This project is co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia. The project/statement etc. expresses the opinion of Caritas Spes Ukraine/Slovenia and does not reflect the official position of the Slovenian government.