Emergency Aid Ukraine

Since the start of the nationwide 
escalation of the war in Ukraine, 
one in five children has lost at 
least one loved one. Particularly 
along the front lines, but also 
in the areas surrounding frequently 
attacked cities like Kyiv and Dnipro, 
children have now spent thousands of 
hours in cellars, shelters, and bunkers, 
often by candlelight and without heating.

According to our alliance organization, 
the children's aid organization World 
Vision, children from families displaced 
multiple times are showing symptoms of 
chronic stress and have very limited 
access to protection and support.

A Life in Fear

“Four years of war means a lifetime of fear 
for many children in Ukraine. For a child, 
that's an eternity,” explains head of World 
Vision's Ukraine relief programs.

The visible destruction of residential areas 
is only part of the reality. “The damage to 
mental health is growing silently, but it 
will shape society for a long time to come.”

Distress, trauma, and isolation exacerbate each other

Mobile aid teams, commissioned by World Vision, 
primarily visit collective shelters, transit centers, 
and remote villages where families struggle with 
existential hardship and a lack of access to health 
and social services. Staff members see clear signs 
that the multifaceted problems in these families' 
daily lives reinforce one another. Both physical 
and psychological strain is evident in their 
interactions with children and young people.

At the same time, an increase in domestic violence is 
observed, which is also attributable to persistent 
stress and untreated trauma.

Multiple displaced families are particularly burdened

According to World Vision, multiple displaced families 
face a particularly high number of burdens, as each 
flight involves dangers along escape routes, as well 
as changes of school, the breakdown of relationships, 
and further destabilization. A recent survey in the 
Kharkiv region revealed that less than one in three 
families received assistance to protect their children.

Since school lessons are frequently interrupted by 
power outages or air raid sirens, many children are 
simultaneously cut off from education—an equally 
important protective environment.

“This protection crisis can no longer be viewed as an 
acute emergency, as it is not merely temporary but 
poses a long-term threat to children’s future prospects,”
says Executive Director of World Vision Germany

The alliance organization of Aktion Deutschland Hilft 
has already adapted its aid programs to the changes and 
is specifically promoting learning and play in communities, 
which gives children back a sense of normalcy and 
childhood. “We are pleased that our work this year is 
still financially secure, thanks in part to the initially 
high level of donations in Germany.”

New Initiatives for Child Protection

Although aid efforts must be prioritized in a protracted 
crisis, and work in Ukraine is becoming increasingly 
dangerous, World Vision is currently launching new 
initiatives to improve both the protection of children 
and their educational and developmental opportunities. 
In addition to providing individual assistance, which 
benefited nearly 20,000 children and young people last 
year, the capacity of governmental and non-governmental 
child protection agencies is also being strengthened.

Emergency aid for families is also being supplemented by 
vocational training programs for young people. Since 2022, 
World Vision has supported more than 2.3 million people 
affected by the conflict, including more than one million 
children.

The Dream of a Life Without War

Thirteen-year-old Maksym from the Kherson region shares 
his experiences and hopes at a World Vision-supported 
child protection center: “My life has changed a lot in 
the last four years. I learned early on what fear means 
and what it’s like not to know what tomorrow will bring. 
The hardest part was leaving my hometown and not knowing 
if I would ever return. Despite everything, I haven’t 
stopped dreaming. I truly wish the war would end so that 
all children can live without sirens and fear.”

Thank you for your kind donation!