Spaces, mobile teams, support: daily help for families in Kharkiv Region
Despite the daily challenges of war, a dedicated team of professionals in Kharkiv region continues to deliver essential social services to children and families. This work is part of the UNICEF Ukraine project “Strengthening community capacity to provide essential protection and resilience services in Kharkiv, Donetsk, Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions,” implemented by the NGO “Responsible Citizens.”
The region hosts:
11 child-friendly spaces — safe environments where children and parents play, learn, and recover.
7 mobile psychosocial support teams — reaching families in remote areas with limited access to services.
“We provide systematic support — consultations, individual assistance, and psychosocial help for families, even during emergencies like shelling or air raid alerts. Psychologists, speech therapists, and art therapists work in the spaces. Our staff constantly undergo training to ensure that services are high-quality, safe, and child-focused,” – says Olena Khvatynets, regional project coordinator in Kharkiv.
In eastern Ukraine, especially in frontline areas of Donetsk region, shelling is intensifying and civilian infrastructure is being heavily damaged. Under these conditions, mobile teams from the NGO Responsible Citizens are working directly in affected communities, offering comprehensive support to those who need it most.
Experts, teachers, parents, and students—a reflection session brought together everyone involved in the initiative to address educational losses. Over two days, participants discussed the results, challenges, and new opportunities in the educational process, which is currently facing significant setbacks due to the impact of wartime events.
A specialized training session for teachers took place in Kyiv, focusing on overcoming significant learning gaps among students caused by the war. Over the past yea...
The year 2022 became a year of trials for a family from Sloviansk. The decision to move to the Odesa region to protect their children from danger was not an easy one, but it was necessary. Later, when it became relatively safe in their hometown, the family returned home, despite all the challenges of living in a frontline region.
Our educational initiatives became part of the discussion at the workshop "Education Without Borders: Shaping Quality Education for Refugees from Pre-Primary to Tertiary". The event brought together international experts, government representatives, and members of the civil sector to seek solutions in the field of education during crises.