How to help Ukraine: Voices of Children and psychological support for war-affected families (Patreon)

Dear Kyiv Independent community members, 

Thank you for your continued support — and we’d also like to wish you a happy Independence Day from Kyiv! 

Today marks 34 years of Ukraine’s independence, and in this edition of the “How to help Ukraine” newsletter, we decided to share with you an organization that supports children because we believe in helping build a future — a safe and independent future — for Ukraine. And that starts with children. 

Each month in this newsletter, we highlight an organization supporting Ukraine and give you a closer look at civil society in Ukraine. We have heard from our members that there’s interest in getting more involved in helping Ukraine, so we will share with you opportunities to donate or, in some cases, volunteer. 

This is our third edition of the “How to Help Ukraine” newsletter, and we’re proud to be able to share with you Voices of Children, the largest Ukrainian foundation providing comprehensive psychological help to children and parents who are affected by war. 

Voices of Children is currently raising $93,000 for summer and autumn camps for children that experienced trauma due to the war, including those who are internally displaced, have parents who are in the military, or are from front-line or liberated areas. Each camp lasts for 14 days in the Carpathian Mountains, located in the west of Ukraine, far from the front line and usually free from aerial attacks to provide children with a safe space to recover and learn how to cope with stress. This is the fourth year that Voices of Children has organized these camps, and each year the demand grows. You can help by donating here — for context, it costs about $830 for one child to attend a two-week camp. Every contribution makes a difference. 

One of the children’s camps run by Voices of Children in the village of Lekechі, Chernivtsi Oblast, 2025.

One of the children’s camps run by Voices of Children in the village of Lekechі, Chernivtsi Oblast, 2025.

Voices of Children initially started in 2015 with volunteer work in eastern Ukraine when human rights activist Olena Rozvadovska left her job in Kyiv and relocated to live and work near the front line, providing humanitarian aid, relocating families, and organizing vacations for children from war-affected areas. While in eastern Ukraine, Olena met documentary filmmaker Azad Safarov, and the pair began working together. 

In 2019, Olena and Azad officially registered Voices of Children as a charitable foundation that provides psychological help for children affected by war. Olena focuses on protecting children’s rights and developing psychological assistance systems, while Azad works on advocacy, media projects, and international visibility. With the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, Voices of Children scaled its operations to be nationwide — the full-scale invasion means that children across the entire country are at risk of being affected by war, not just those in front-line areas. 

Since then, the Voices of Children has helped over 137,000 children and parents across Ukraine. 

Here’s what the fund mainly consists of: 

Ten regional centers, in places like Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kyiv, staffed with case managers, speech therapists, and lawyers. These centers provide psychological consultations and individual and group therapy for both children and parents. They also have mobile outreach teams that work in front-line and liberated communities, as well as those isolated by war. 

An online chatbot and a hot line so internally displaced people and Ukrainian refugees abroad can also access psychological support services. 

Children’s camps for psychological support, which last 1-2 weeks and are designed to teach children stress management and resilience strategies. The foundation also runs programs to support families raising children with disabilities, as well as mothers whose children’s fathers are missing, in captivity, or who have died. 

Humanitarian assistance to support families.

Trainings for specialists, including for psychologists, teachers, prosecutors, and journalists. 

Voices of Children also shares the stories of children affected by war on their website — you can read them here. The foundation also published the book “War Through the Voices of Children,” which features 100 quotes from children who have experienced war paired with illustrations — both from famous individuals and the children themselves. Part of the proceeds from the book will also be used to fund psychological support for Ukrainian children.

Right now, Voices of Children is raising money for summer and autumn camps. You can make a donation here and read more about the initiative. Every bit counts. 

Thank you for your support — and we hope you find these letters highlighting organizations like Voices of Children useful. If you have any questions or feedback about our newsletter, please feel free to respond directly to this email or reach out via email at brooke@kyivindependent.com and let us know what you think of this membership benefit.