Childhood with a taste of war

Olha Balaban.

Oct 2025

 

For the fourth year in a row, children from Ukraine had a childhood with the taste of war. These are children who know the sounds of rockets and drones, know how to apply a tourniquet, and help clear rubble after bomb attacks. They know how to use a bomb shelter and why the two-wall rule protects them from flying debris. They know what it's like to sleep in a hallway, bathroom, parking lot, or subway. Some have experienced the loss of their homes, some the loss of loved ones, and all have been traumatized by this war.

 

Our children will never have a chance for another childhood. We can't turn off the war or isolate children from it. But we can teach them to survive during the war, to respond to challenges. We can give them a proper sense of childhood. In our Center, we listen, hold hands, hug, and give care and love. Even when it hurts, when it seems that there is nothing left and only darkness around, our hands and hearts are open. We surround them with care and love. We are ready to listen and support. We are there for them.

 

Every day, during creative classes with the help of drawings, applications or modeling, children rise above the disturbing world around them. The children of our Center know it is possible, even when they are afraid and worried we can still create something beautiful. Together with teachers and psychologists, they share their fears and experiences, learn to support each other, talk about their dreams. They smile once again.

 

Every summer, we organize a health vacation on the Black Sea in Bulgaria, where families can finally forget about all their losses and difficulties and recharge their batteries so they could continue living during war with love and hope in their hearts. This is vital for people with war injuries and trauma.

 

For the second year in a row, we are financing the education in the USA of four gifted high school students and 2 university students who are highly motivated for further education. They may build a happy life in America; they may return to their native country after the war and help rebuild it. Moreover, now students from Ukraine are studying without air raids and hiding in the shelters.

 

In Ukraine, our children also continue to study, learn English, play sports and be creative. They live, holding on to hope with all their souls. They dream of a bright future. They believe that after the dark, light will come.