Tymofii from Sumy is nine years old, and he has been studying online at home since the first grade. Attending school in person, face-to-face interaction with peers, and team games are experiences almost foreign to him. But recently, the boy attended an engaging psychological training session, the “Self-Help Workshop,” organized by our Foundation for children from frontline territories as part of the Lifesaving: Protection, Shelter, and WASH for War-Affected Regions project.
According to Dmytro Kondratenko, a psychologist with the mobile team in Sumska Oblast, the event immerses children in a playful atmosphere. Through active, sensory, and creative games using colorful equipment, they can reduce anxiety and tension, learn simple self-soothing techniques, improve their peer interaction skills, and receive positive emotions and support.
“Children desperately need socialization right now. We see that they find it difficult to focus on complicated game rules or listen to instructions. For them, the process itself is what matters — the movement, the connection, the emotion. This is especially true for middle schoolers who, without in-person classes, haven’t developed group work skills. They come to us simply wanting to interact with each other,” says Dmytro Kondratenko.
Tymofii’s mother, Darya, agrees with the psychologist. She does everything she can to support her son’s development amid the war: the boy studies English, is interested in engineering, and attends a robotics club at an extracurricular education center. But despite it all, Darya admits that what her son lacks most is face-to-face communication with other children.
“He’s a bit shy but very active and curious, so he was thrilled when I signed him up for the children’s psychological training. For him, it’s a chance to be part of a group, to learn how to interact, and to simply be around other children. To say he was satisfied after the session is an understatement. He was bursting with emotions and impressions. His favorite part was the quests,” she says.
Within the project, psychological training sessions are conducted free of charge by specialists from the mobile team in the frontline communities of Sumska, Zaporizka, and Mykolaivska Oblasts. The sessions are held twice a week — separately for children under 11 and for those aged 11 to 16, in compliance with security requirements. Up-to-date information on the mobile teams’ locations and hours is regularly published on the official websites of local self-government bodies.
The project is implemented by the Charity Foundation “Stabilization Support Services” in partnership with the charitable organization Malteser International, with support from Aktion Deutschland Hilft.