The Right of the Child to Development and Protection: Stories of Support from Kamianske and Zaporizhzhia
During the war, every childhood story is a separate path toward safety, development, and recovery.
But there is something that unites all the families who turn to our specialists: the need for support that protects the child’s rights every day.
Kamianske. Matvii’s family changed their place of residence many times after his father was injured during shelling in Sievierodonetsk. Due to constant relocations, the boy did not attend kindergarten, had almost no communication with peers, and faced difficulties at school.
Specialists from NGO “Responsible Citizens” assessed the child’s psycho-emotional state, helped Matvii learn to recognize and regulate his emotions, and master self-stabilization techniques. A psychologist also worked with his mother to reduce her anxiety and provide practical tools to support her son.
The teacher received recommendations on how to interact with the boy and organize a safe educational environment.
The results came quickly: Matvii became more attentive and calm, better controlled his emotions, and relationships in the classroom noticeably improved. The family also received financial assistance, a clothing voucher, and a hygiene kit.
Zaporizhzhia.
When Khrystyna Tkachenko and her three-year-old daughter Alina left Velyka Bilozerka, they found themselves in a new city without support. Alina had difficulties with speech sounds, and her mother felt severe emotional exhaustion — something many single parents experience during forced internal displacement.
In Zaporizhzhia, the family turned to the Child-Friendly Space operating within a UNICEF Ukraine project implemented by NGO “Responsible Citizens.” Here, Alina began sessions with a speech therapist, Khrystyna received psychological support, and joint art-therapy sessions helped them both regain a sense of safety. Thanks to the specialists’ comprehensive work, Alina became more confident, improved her pronunciation, and Khrystyna became calmer and less anxious. After another shelling, when the girl’s fears returned and stuttering appeared, the Child-Friendly Space team quickly provided additional support and helped stabilize her condition.
“Here we found the belief that everything will be alright,” the mother says.
Both of these stories are about different families, different challenges, and different paths to safety. But they share one thing: the protection of a child’s rights does not stop even during war. When specialists are nearby and ready to support a family, a child’s right to development, emotional resilience, education, and care becomes real — not merely declarative.
Більше новин
-
Specialists from the NGO “Responsible Citizens” participated in Inclusion WeekThe event was organized by Mercy Corps in partnership with Alliance.Global and Humanity and Inclusion. This event focused on discussing inclusive approaches to supp...
-
First training in 2025: Practical knowledge for effectively addressing individual needsThe NGO "Responsible Citizens" successfully conducted the first training of the year on the topic: "Meeting Individual Needs – From a Sense of Safety to Conflict Mitigation."
-
Empowering social sector workers: successful three-day training program completedWe held a three-day training session in Kyiv for social sector professionals as part of the project ‘Strengthening community capacity to provide essential protectio...
-
Olga Kosse at the “Generation of Hope” conference: on supporting children in frontline regionsThe Head of the Board of NGO “Responsible Citizens,” Olga Kosse, took part in the “Generation of Hope: a future that is already growing” conference dedicated to the launch of the Gen.Hope Center of Leading Practices in child and adolescent mental health.
-
A training for social workers took place in Kharkiv: new knowledge for supporting peopleIn Kharkiv, social workers from various parts of the Kharkiv region—Sakhnovshchyna, Zachepylivka, and Pivdenne—participated in a two-day training to enhance their skills and address the challenges posed by the war.
-
“The results of our research show the deepening humanitarian challenges,” – Enrique MenendezDonetsk, Luhansk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia — these are the main regions where people who participated in our online survey live.
-
Building the team for Zaporizhzhia’s first Resilience CenterThe NGO “Responsible Citizens”, with the support of UNICEF in Ukraine.
-
Warmth for the Family: The Story of a Rybalske Household That Received Cash Assistance to Prepare for WinterThe winter cash assistance program is implemented by Responsible Citizens NGO in partnership with JERU (a joint initiative of the international organizations Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide) with funding from the German Federal Foreign Office (AA).