One year ago Russia invaded Ukraine, exposing thousands of innocent children to the brutal reality of war. As the conflict continues, World Vision is helping local charities provide mental and emotional support to the children living through this.
Video / NZ Herald / World Vision
World Vision’s Brianna Piazza reports from Ukraine, where she has been for the past month to see the impact the war has had on children there, and how donations raised in last year’s NZ Herald campaign are making a difference in their lives.
As I walk past burnt-out homes, crumbling apartment blocks, and hand-dug trenches, I’m becoming more used to the sight of life continuing on as normal despite the war-torn surrounds.
But as I drive through the city of Bucha, a once leafy town where wealthy families lived, I see something which I can’t get out of my head. A group of children playing on a set of swings. A normal childhood scene almost anywhere else, but here in Ukraine where a normal childhood is a thing of the past, this playground stands in stark relief next to a giant bombed-out building.
For a year the children of Ukraine have had no choice but to adapt to a horrifying “new normal”. The trauma of seeing the brutality of war first-hand, being separated from loved ones, not knowing if their friends or families are still alive, living in and out of cold bunkers with the ever-present threat of attack at any hour of the day or night. Their normal lives have been completely torn from them.
In my short time here, I’ve had a glimpse of the ongoing uncertainty children face as their daily reality. And it’s terrifying.
In the east, close to the front lines, most days are interrupted by air alarms warning of a possible missile attack. The minute they go off, you start moving downstairs, heading to the closest bunker, watching the light disappear with each step you take. It’s a grim feeling and, the worst part is, you’re left in a constant state of not knowing. When will it end? Will it be over in 20 minutes, two hours or two days?
And then there are the days without air alarms, where children gather in the playground, when normality returns, to some extent at least. As my colleague, and now good friend, Sasha, puts it “you can go from wondering when the next missile attack will happen, to just buying flowers or having a coffee with friends, all in one day”.
‘This year has completely changed our children’
The impact of the past year on the children of Ukraine has been vast. More than 7.5 million children have been affected by the war, most of them displaced from their homes.
The use of artillery, mortars, and military force puts children at risk of death and injury, but also threatens their emotional wellbeing. Exposure to airstrikes, bombing and violence can destroy a child’s sense of security which is so fundamental for healthy development. And nearly two-thirds of Ukraine’s children have been forced to leave their homes with the associated distress of being ripped away from their family members and support networks to find a new way of life in unfamiliar countries or towns.
Some of the children I meet have an almost empty look in their eyes. I see them flinch and panic at even the slightest loud noises, such as a door slamming shut. I can’t begin to imagine what they have experienced.
Destruction in Bucha, Borodyanka and Moshchun (cities and towns near Kyiv) which suffered heavy destruction and casualties when the conflict first broke out in 2022. One year on, much of the damage is still visible and many homes are uninhabitable. Bullet shots, IEDs, burnt-out buildings and uneven roads still cover much of the area. Photo / Brianna Piazza, World Vision
And that trauma can last a lifetime. World Vision warns that 1.5 million children will require mental health and psychosocial support as a result of the conflict.
While in Bucha I meet with psychologist Lyudmyla Boyko, the director of the Borodyanka Centre for Social and Psychological Rehabilitation. I ask her what she is seeing in these children of war.
“This year has completely changed our children,” she says. “Now it is rare to see a group of children behaving like children – screaming, jumping and having fun.
“Children are filled with fear, they do not leave their parents, they spend less time with their peers. They have nightmares, they don’t sleep well. Sometimes they cry for no reason. These are acute problems. It is difficult to watch.”
Vlada, 12, attends the youth club by Youth Movement Be Free, which is supported by World Vision. Photo / Brianna Piazza, World Vision
Boyko says that war is one of the worst things that can happen to a child.
“There is nothing more terrible than war. War takes lives, war takes memories, it takes away relationships in families, it takes away the light and perspective of life.”
World Vision supports Boyko’s centre in delivering psychosocial support for children. She tells me that despite the extensive trauma they are seeing, their work is having a tangible impact in the lives of children they are helping.
“We have had girls who categorically would not communicate with anyone, they would not leave the places they are staying,” she says. “But today they are here, in our group, interacting and smiling.”
Since the outbreak of the conflict, World Vision has helped more than 650,000 people across Ukraine and neighbouring countries where refugees have fled to. Alongside supplying life-saving shelter, food, water and healthcare, providing hope and a sense of normality for children is a priority.
Friendship and love, amid pain and sorrow
In Brusyliv I met Vlada. She is 12 and attends the youth club supported by World Vision. Her father is fighting in the war. Her whole world turned upside down in just a year.
Vlada and Miroslava at the youth club by Youth Movement Be Free, which is supported by World Vision. Photo / Brianna Piazza, World Vision
At the youth club, she learns about things no child should have to worry about, like how to protect herself from landmines and IEDs that have been planted during the conflict. But she has also made a new best friend.
Vlada lights up when she talks about Miroslava. It’s clear that this friendship is so important to them both. Over the past year, children have been forced to grow up, to say goodbye to the life they once knew, but here they have found each other.
For children like Vlada and Miroslava, education is also key to providing hope for the future. More than four million children have had their education disrupted by the war and are at risk of losing vital years of learning and social development.
Together with funding from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), your support is enabling this education and mental health programme for 7000 Ukrainian refugee children. We’re providing teaching staff, school resources, digital devices and early learning spaces to allow children to continue their education while they are sheltering far from home. We’re also providing psychologists for children struggling with trauma to help them regain a sense of normality and peace.
The more time I spend here, the more I realise just how important the work we are doing is. Amid the backdrop of a war that has killed and injured thousands, displaced millions and disrupted all aspects of daily life as these children know it, our work is transforming lives.
I see this when I’m told of troubled children who arrived here just weeks or months ago lacking confidence, acting scared, and closed off, but who are now smiling, laughing and dancing in the corridors with their new friends. Children like Vlada and Miroslava who have found each other amid the pain and sorrow.
Despite the horrors they have witnessed and the pain they have suffered, every single person I talk to finds it in their heart to express gratitude. They know that without the support of those in far-flung places, like New Zealand, their lives could be so much worse.
The global outpouring of support for those in Ukraine has brought hope for the future amid the destruction and violence. It has given millions of Ukrainians the capacity to face this incredibly difficult “new normal”.
Lyudmyla Boyko, the incredible psychologist I met in Bucha, puts it so eloquently.
“We are infinitely grateful to the people who have donated. Through you, we are able to give people strength and faith that they should not live in darkness but live with light in their hearts.”
