Psychological Healing of Ukrainian Children

Together, We Turn Pain into Strength

Dear friends and supporters,

Thanks to you, our amazing community on GlobalGiving, hundreds of Ukrainian families who have lost their loved ones are not left alone with their grief. Every month, your donations make it possible for our psychologists to be there — listening, supporting, and helping to heal.

Impact at a Glance

In an average month, our psychologists provide around 1,359 consultations, reaching about 500 beneficiaries — children and their guardians. Each session is a small step toward rebuilding a child’s sense of safety and hope.

But the need keeps growing:

• Every month, 300–500 new children join our foundation.

• About half of them need immediate psychological help.

• Around 1.5% of our families return for additional sessions — because new challenges and triggers keep appearing in their lives.

For many, the road to healing is not linear. Some families need more time and more sessions to process loss, rebuild trust, and believe in the possibility of a different future.

Why This Support Is So Critical

War leaves invisible wounds. If these wounds are not addressed early, they can grow into complicated grief or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Our psychologists help children and their caregivers understand and express their pain, rather than letting it become a lifelong shadow.

As one of our psychologists says:

“Psychological support is not just about healing wounds. It teaches you how to transform pain into understanding — and understanding into the strength to live on.”

Matvii’s Story: Healing Starts with Connection

Let us tell you about Matvii and his mother Nataliia.
Matvii is only 1 year and 3 months old. Before he was born, his father — a soldier — died from an explosive injury during combat. Nataliia was four months pregnant when she lost him. She never had the chance to share the news that they were having a son.

When she joined our support group for mothers with children under three, Nataliia was struggling with deep depression. Talking about her husband’s death felt impossible. For Matvii, she would just point to photos and say, “Daddy is here.”

Through months of group sessions, Nataliia and other mothers learned how to open up emotionally — not just physically — to their children. They created small moments of real connection: playing, drawing, dancing, singing together.

It was the other mothers’ courage that inspired Nataliia to finally talk to Matvii about his father.
She shared, “I realized I’m not alone. I finally understood why I feel so distant and what to do about it. The psychologist explained that this ‘shut-off’ feeling is normal for many women after trauma. Now, I have the knowledge and the calm I didn’t have before.”

This is what your support makes possible — stories where silence turns into dialogue, fear turns into trust, and despair turns into resilience.

What Comes Next

We know the need is not going away.
With every day of war, more families lose loved ones, more children lose parents. And each one deserves the chance to find healing — not just today, but for the years ahead.

Thanks to you, we can be there, month after month, session after session. Your donations help pay for therapy, group sessions, crisis interventions, and extra sessions for families who need more time.

Thank You for Walking This Road With Us

Your kindness gives these families a safe space, a trusted hand, and the hope they are not alone.

From all of us — and from the children and mothers you stand with — thank you for transforming pain into new strength.

With deepest gratitude,
The Children of Heroes Charity Fund Team