Let's help blind children refugees from Ukraine

Dear friends! We thank everyone who supports our project to support families of Ukrainian children.
Unfortunately, military aggression from Russia continues.
And in Kharkov and the Kharkov region, the situation has worsened. Every day brings anxiety, shelling and destruction. The ecology in Kharkov and the Kharkov region has worsened.

Air raid alarms sound almost around the clock. This is not the best environment for children's development. Especially if the children have complex developmental disabilities. And not all families with children, for various reasons, were able to leave for safe places. Therefore, it is so important to give such families the support of specialists. To give the necessary knowledge for the development and upbringing of their children in such extreme conditions as war. Knowledge that will help them cope with difficulties and prevent their children from stopping their development.

Unfortunately, we were not able to raise enough funds to take families of children with complex developmental disabilities to health improvement and conduct a summer visiting school of parenting skills. Therefore, we focused on online support during the reporting period. Twice a week, ZUM holds classes called "Parental Universities", where mothers meet with various specialists, can ask questions that concern them, receive recommendations, and methodological literature.
We organize meetings with children and families in our center. Our center's team, with the support of partners, organized a holiday for International Children's Day.

During the reporting period, our team paid much attention to the adaptation and printing of books on the principles of universal design for children with severe visual impairments. Support for the "Book Club" for children with severe visual impairments continues. More than 150 books on the principles of universal design were printed for the participants of the "Book Club" during the reporting period.
Now, by the beginning of the school year, we are preparing gifts for first-graders "Encyclopedia in Fairy Tales" by Sashko Dermansky.
The following books were adapted and printed: "German Fairy Tales", "Hello, Summer!", "Spring Bustle", "Lel".
One of the important areas of our work is the adaptation of textbooks for children who study in comprehensive schools. More than 30 children receive support not only in Ukraine, but also in European countries, where Ukrainian families are under temporary protection.
With the help of the German Society of the Blind and Visually Impaired, we were able to donate special equipment for inclusive resource centers in Poltava, Rivne, Kharkov, Vinnytsia, Lutsk, and Lviv.
The humanitarian aid headquarters of our center provides families raising children with disabilities with food packages and hygiene products.
Thank you very much for your support! Your help is an opportunity to give our children resources for development and positive moments of childhood.
We are really looking forward to the end of the war.

• Parents_feedback_on_our_work.docx (DOCX)

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Dear friends,

We would like to thank everyone who supports the project to support families of Ukrainian children with complex developmental disorders.

Russia's military aggression has significantly worsened the situation of such families. Some of the families who were able to evacuate from places of active hostilities to European countries are gradually integrating into local communities and receiving emergency assistance. But the language barrier and the slow process of processing the necessary documents to receive therapeutic assistance from specialists set such children back in their development. In addition, the children have experienced psychological traumas related to shelling, evacuation difficulties, and parental stress. Children who continue to stay in Ukraine cannot receive the necessary support due to the lack of specialists, power outages, and increased shelling. The situation in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region is particularly aggravated. That is why it is so important to give such families the support of specialists. To give the necessary knowledge for the development and upbringing of their children in such extreme conditions as war. Knowledge that will help them to cope with difficulties and not to let their children stop developing. This was the main goal of our project "Ukrainian children in the palms of art".

More than 30 project participants gathered in the beautiful place Pavlova Banya in Bulgaria. An international team of specialists: typhlopedagogues, speech therapists, psychologists, physical rehabilitation therapists, spatial orientation instructor, and an art therapist worked with children and mothers in the first half of the day.

In the afternoon the mothers had an opportunity to get psychological support, rest, socialize and support their physical health. The 10 days of the project were filled with acceptance and love for children, positive emotions, excursions to interesting places in Bulgaria. Children drew, sculpted, sang, listened to music. The walks and games with our wonderful volunteers will be remembered for a long time. We observed how the faces of our kids changed during the project. How they turned from little prickly hedgehogs into cheerful, agile varmints.

Parents wrote in their feedback about the project: "It was awesome!", "Fantastic project!", "I am glad I could spend time with you and learn a lot from everyone. Thank you for your care and sensitivity, for relaxation and a lot of laughter", "Deep appreciation and gratitude for your guidance, for sharing your valuable experience so generously!", "You embrace our children with your love, care, patience and they blossom!  You believe in them and they succeed! Thank you for your labor and for your inexhaustible kindness!"

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