The war in Ukraine has forced more than 14 million people to leave their homes in search of a safer place. Since 2015, Tdh has been providing various services to children, young people and their families in Eastern Ukraine, with a focus on psychosocial support. Until the full-scale Russian invasion of 2022, we have implemented a wide range of projects, including on youth entrepreneurship, participation of children and youth in decision-making, access to innovation, creation of social projects by children and young people themselves, as well as individual case management for mines victims. At the moment, we are providing assistance for internally displaced people in the West of the country.
To protect children at risk, we strengthen the child protection system by mobilising the communities and working with professionals in this field. We use various methodologies such as YouCreate to empower children and young people and to improve their social interaction at school, within their families and in the community. This makes them more resilient to the stress caused by the conflict. With the help of the innovative non-formal education space FabLab, Tdh supports adolescents to integrate in a professional environment. The acquired social and digital skills help them improve their livelihood and strengthen their employability.
In Ukraine, migration affects children in different ways: some children migrate with their parents or are left behind with other caregivers while their parents migrate to other countries. In order to reduce the impact of this phenomenon and ensure that child rights are respected, we work together with organisations and institutions from Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. For the first time at Babes-Bolyai University in Romania, a Research Center for the Study of Transnational Families has been created, and the knowledge will be translated into policies and activities. We will combine trainings and awareness activities for service providers and transnational families.
Tdh provides humanitarian aid to the displaced families in Western Ukraine, either living in reception centres or in communities. Like in the border countries, our teams assess and respond to the basic, health, protection and psychological needs of children, youth and families. Child-friendly spaces and mother-baby-corners are set up. They help people stay safe as we inform them about available services and raise awareness of potential risks. We also build and support a network of frontline service providers and work with authorities to coordinate the humanitarian response.
