To give back joy to 400 traumatized Ukrainian kids

After our last report in August, the children and teenagers in our program have entered a new and important stage of their lives — one that requires not only emotional support, but also guidance in making decisions that shape their future. Over the past months, our role has increasingly focused on helping them navigate this transition in a way that respects their individual needs, abilities, and dreams.

Supporting Their Next Steps

As many of them moved into new schools, grades, or educational paths, we worked closely with each child and family to ensure they felt confident and understood:

• their options for school selection,

• the challenges of adapting to new academic environments,

• their own strengths and preferences,

• and the steps needed to plan for the future — whether in Poland or elsewhere.

For the older teens, this also meant conversations about:

• long-term goals,

• vocational choices,

• building independence,

• and imagining a life beyond crisis.

Individualised Guidance

Each young person continues to carry a unique story. Some needed structured consultations to manage school-related stress; others required help in understanding the Polish education system. Several children benefited from sessions focused on career exploration, while younger ones were supported in forming healthy routines and establishing stability.

Throughout these months, our goal has remained the same: to help every young person enter the next stage of life with clarity, confidence, and the sense that they are not alone.

Growing Into Themselves

We have observed a meaningful shift. The children who once arrived frightened and uncertain are now beginning to:

• express their own needs more clearly,

• take responsibility for decisions,

• build new identities,

• and imagine futures rooted in hope rather than fear.

Their growth is visible not only in the choices they make, but also in the trust they place in themselves.

Looking Ahead

As they continue to mature, our work will increasingly focus on:

• strengthening their autonomy,

• supporting educational and career planning,

• and ensuring that each child receives the guidance best suited to their path.

These young people are stepping into a new chapter — and we are honoured to walk beside them.

Three years have passed.

Three years since hundreds of children were forced to leave their homes, schools, toys, and familiar faces behind. Three years since they had to grow up overnight. Our goal was simple: to give them back a sense of joy. To help them, even for a moment, feel like children again — safe, loved, and seen.

Today, these children are no longer so little. They are 12, 13, 15 years old. They are growing, learning, and finding their way in a new world. Some now speak fluent Polish. Some have stayed in Poland, others moved on. But all of them carry memories — and among them, thanks to you, some truly beautiful ones.

What Happened?

Over the past three years:

• children took part in regular therapy sessions and creative workshops,
• they joined in trips, picnics, and group outings,
• they built relationships with seniors who became “grandparents by choice,”
• and most importantly, they began to laugh, trust, and dream again.

We held over 200 hours of therapy, 18 large integration events, and dozens of intergenerational meetings. Every single moment was about one thing: creating a space where a child could just be a child again.

Their Voices, Three Years On

"I remember Ms. Ola. I painted an angel with her — I wanted it to protect my mom. Now I’m studying graphic design. That angel still hangs above my bed."
– Katia, 14

"At the first camp, I cried every night. Then I met Vasyl and Ms. Marysia. We still write to each other. I'm not afraid of the night anymore."
– Artem, 13

"Thanks to you, I knew I wasn’t just a refugee. I was a child. And I was allowed to dream."
– Alona, now 16, a volunteer at a youth center

What Remains?

Sometimes it seems impossible to build a future out of rubble. And yet, these children have shown that it can be done — if someone reaches out, if someone believes in them. That’s exactly what happened.

What remains is:

• trust that the world can be safe again,
• the knowledge that even in the darkest moments, there were people who cared,
• and the simple truth that being a child is not a luxury — it’s a right.

Thank You

This project was never just a list of actions. It was a story. A story of community. Of hope. Of kindness that survived even the hardest days.

Thank you to each and every one of you who helped write this story: donors, volunteers, therapists, seniors, families. Your support didn’t just bring smiles back to these children’s faces — it helped them step more gently into life.

This was a project that changed everything. Forever.

With deep gratitude,
The Project Team