This project is implemented with the support of Restart Foundation in cooperation with the NGO, Words Help, and the Centre for Mental Health at NaUKMA in November 2024
The reality we are responding to
There are no children in Ukraine who have been spared by the war. Some have been forced to flee their
homes. Some are separated from their parents or have lost them. Some will never be able to return to their homes and toys because they were destroyed by a Russian missile. Some cannot receive the treatment or rehabilitation they need. And even the requirement to periodically hide in shelters during air raids, and the constant flow of news about military events, can have a strong impact on children’s psyches.
“Mum, I’m afraid that a drone will hit our house”
“Dad, I’m afraid to fall asleep and not wake up”
“Mum, I haven’t lived at all yet. I hate Russia because they are firing missiles at us”
As of 24 November 2024, 593 children have been killed as a result of Russia’s full-scale armed aggression.
Another 1707 children were injured. 1933 children are missing1 . As of 2024, more than 3,800 educational institutions were damaged, of which about 400 were completely destroyed. 1,642 medical facilities have also been damaged, 214 completely destroyed. These facilities include children’s healthcare facilities.
Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, as of November 2024, there have been more than 50,000 airborne alerts across the country, and now the alarms are becoming more frequent, with 137 alarms sounded in Kyiv during the project period (July-September) with an average duration of 2 hours and 34 minutes. In November 2024, when this report was prepared, there were 67 alarms, some lasting 10-12 hours.2
These statistics eloquently illustrate the scale of the war’s impact on the civilian population of Ukraine,
especially on children who are forced to interrupt their studies, wake up in the middle of the night and hide in shelters.
Despite the constant danger and anxiety, Ukrainian children continue to live with their parents: they can
continue to learn, play, enjoy themselves and keep the light of life alive. The task of adults is to do everything possible to support children, strengthen their resources and resilience, and minimise the impact of the war on their emotional state and development.
In this context, it is crucial to implement programmes aimed at psychological support, developing emotional resilience and creating a safe environment for children. Initiatives such as Safe Space are essential to help children cope with the challenges of war, and to provide their parents and educators with effective support tools that allow them to maintain faith in the future and restore a sense of security, even in the most difficult times.
Our response
In July-September 2024 Restart Foundation, in cooperation with the NGO Words Help and the Mental Health Centre of NaUKMA, implemented a comprehensive psychosocial support programme for children called Safe Space at the Kazkovi Kids kindergarten3.
The Safe Space programme was first developed in 2015 by the Mental Health Centre of the National
University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy and aims to increase children’s resilience to stressful situations, including in times of war. Its main goals are to create a safe environment for children, reduce the manifestations of psychosocial stress, and support emotional well-being. The programme’s objectives include training teachers and psychologists in methods of working with children who have experienced traumatic events, as well as conducting group and individual sessions with children to develop their emotional resilience.
The implementation of the Safe Space programme in Ukrainian kindergartens is extremely important,
especially in the context of the war and its impact on children’s psychological well-being. A study of the
programme’s effectiveness in 2023 showed that the percentage of children who reported an improvement in their psycho-emotional state ranged from 37.6% to 68% in primary school and from 45.3% to 60.2% in secondary school. In addition, 64.7% of children reported an increase in resilience. This data indicates the significant positive impact of the programme on the emotional well-being and adaptability of children in difficult life circumstances.
Restart Foundation’s Safe Space programme was launched during one of the most difficult periods for Kyiv – a time of massive shelling that threatened the city almost every day. The day of the first meeting with parents was particularly tragic, when a rocket hit the Okhmatdyt children’s hospital. The parents who attended the programme’s events looked exhausted, apathetic and inhibited, often ignoring their own and their children’s psycho-emotional state. These were clear signs of the chronic stress they were under. Therefore, the work with parents had to be organised in stages to provide each family with the necessary support.
The programme also faced additional challenges. Unfavourable weather conditions, including extreme heat and significant air pollution, made it difficult to conduct classes, affecting both children and adults. Teachers and staff were also in an extremely difficult situation: many of them were in need of psychological assistance due to limited resources for recovery and insufficient training for working in a war zone. Moreover, many teachers were internally displaced, having fled their homes due to the fighting, which further worsened their emotional state. All of these factors posed significant challenges, but the programme team was committed to supporting each participant, adapting their approaches to the needs of the situation.
The project included the following activities:
- Meeting with the management of the kindergarten
- Group supportive meetings with carers
- Group supportive meetings with parents
- Group lessons with children
- Mentor support for interns
- Supervisory support for interns and project mentor
The project involved 4 specialists:
- 1 supervisor – Oksana Zaleska
- 1 mentor / psychologist – Olena Tkachenko
- 2 interns – Anastasia Naumova and Natalia Garyachek
37 project participants received assistance and support during the programme, as follows:
| Beneficiaries | Quantity |
|---|---|
| Children | 14 |
| Managers of the kindergarten | 2 |
| Educators | 5 |
| Parents | 14 |
| Interns | 2 |
Setting the stage: Observation and work with carers
The programme began with observation and work with caregivers to identify the needs of caregivers and
their particular difficulties in working with children: difficulties in understanding behaviour, establishing rapport, providing support and containing emotions. For example, teachers were afraid of aggressive behaviour and could not protect other children, did not know how to help a child who was upset, ignored sexualised behaviour of some children, did not understand that a quiet and calm child who does not disturb anyone but does not participate in classes has developmental disabilities and needs special support. It was very difficult for the teachers of this kindergarten to work, as it was difficult for them to understand the emotions and needs of children because they themselves had gone through difficult, traumatic experiences.
90% of the staff were displaced from the occupied territories. Some had lost their homes, some had lost their relatives, and some had loved ones serving in the Armed Forces and on the front line. In Kyiv, most of them did not have their own housing: some rented a room, while others lived with relatives. It was evident that the educators had not yet fully adapted to their new living conditions. Due to these living conditions, it was difficult for the staff to engage emotionally with the children: to play, communicate and understand their needs. This situation required a sensitive approach to both children and adults to create an environment of support and trust.
That is why we paid considerable attention to supporting the team: working on restoring their resources,
taking care of themselves, and developing stress-resistance skills. The first task was to support the adults
who directly care for the children, so that they could understand their reactions to stress, cope with it, feel cared for, and learn new skills to overcome stress and recover. Creating such an experience of care and support. We also worked with carers’ requests for interaction with children:
- How to support a crying child
- How to respond to a child’s tantrum
- How to deal with aggressive behaviour of children
- How to organise the adaptation process for new children
- how to organise the learning space in groups by zones
- How to provide feedback to parents
Special attention was paid to the organisation of childrens’ stays in the shelter. The main goal of the adults was to create conditions so that the children’s childhood would continue even in these difficult
circumstances. Boxes with games, creative materials and books were set up for each group. A projector was installed so that children could hear the loud explosions less and be distracted by watching cartoons. We also visually improved the shelter space, making it more cosy and comfortable for the children. Special attention was paid to those children who were afraid, learning how to properly support them in such situations.
These measures are aimed at providing children with a sense of security and preserving their right to happy moments in life even during the war.
Work with the parents
The second stage of the programme is work with parents. The start of the programme coincided with large-scale shelling, including a tragic hit to the Okhmatdyt hospital. Due to these circumstances, it was impossible to gather all parents at the same time, so the meetings were held in stages, in small groups. At the beginning of the programme, parents were emotionally exhausted and had difficulty taking care of themselves. This made it difficult for them to understand that their children’s regressive behaviour or whims were a manifestation of an acute reaction to stress, as well as a way of signalling important needs – for safety, unconditional love, and quality interaction through play.
The programme has made a positive difference. By the end of the sessions, most parents had improved
significantly, and they began to better understand their children’s needs and the importance of quality play.
It was especially important to work together with their children. Some parents found it difficult at the
beginning, they felt tense, but gradually relaxed and joined in the joint play with their children. At the end of the programme, six families were referred to individual psychological support as part of the project.
Implementation of the programme: group work with children
The participants were 14 kindergarten students. Two age groups were formed – younger and older. In total, 11 sessions were held in each group. Each group had certain dynamics. In general, in both groups, there was a high level of anxiety at the beginning of the classes, and even when discussing the rules, children mentioned explosives, that they could not bring bombs or weapons to class. The context of the war was evident in the children’s discussions.
Children with adaptation problems attracted a lot of attention in the classroom, but at the same time
benefited the most from the lessons. The children of both groups had low emotional competence, poor
distinction between emotions and feelings, and were unable to express them in a socially acceptable way.
Therefore, one of the tasks of the work was to deepen the children’s knowledge and teach them to express their emotions and transform them into feelings that can be expressed in words. In the older group, the children showed interest in sexuality, one of the boys showed sexualised behaviour and other children were involved in this, the interns handled the topic sensitively, set boundaries and gradually the situation normalised. One of the challenges was the situation of mastering aggressive behaviour. Several sessions were dedicated to this topic. The children showed impulsivity, aggression towards peers, sometimes towards adults, fights, verbal quarrels. All of this is, at the same time, a manifestation of reactions to chronic stress, and a child’s aggressive behaviour is often a request for help, a manifestation of extreme vulnerability. During the sessions, some children talked about adult aggression towards them, or about their aggression towards their parents, younger brothers and sisters. In working with aggression, firstly, a safe space was created for the expression of frustration and feelings, and secondly, gradually, children were introduced to different ways of managing anger and the ability to express it in words.
However, there were also children who lacked aggressive energy or directed it inward, were too quiet, shy, had difficulties with spontaneous behaviour and participation in discussions, and often refused to play and participate in exercises at the beginning. But as the sessions progressed, gradually, thanks to being allowed to safely express aggressive energy in the game, they relaxed, became bolder and even took the initiative in the last meetings. In the sessions on managing anxiety and fear, at the beginning almost all the children showed fearlessness, saying that they were not afraid of anything and had no fears. But gradually, through creative work, the children were able to express their anxieties in a safe environment. They were afraid of sirens, explosions, that their mum would not be there, spiders, etc. One boy made a loudspeaker to sound the alarm and spent the entire exercise doing just that. Gradually, the children’s patience increased and they listened to each other’s stories with empathy, shared their feelings and the atmosphere in the groups was warm and creative. The children did not want to end the session, they were upset and wanted to continue.
Referrals for specialised psychological help
Another area of the project’s work is a system of referrals for specialised help for children and adults who
need more support than group work. These are usually children with symptoms of PTSD, various behavioural disorders, high levels of anxiety, or adults (caregivers) with high burnout scores and chronic stress. Referrals are made to the mental health centres of NaUKMA on the recommendation of the programme’s senior trainer, and the child or adult receives 12 free individual consultations with a professional psychologist or psychotherapist. This project referred 6 people, of whom 4 took advantage of this opportunity and received additional help.
Impressions of the programme: feedback from participants
The general conclusion about the results of the Safe Space project implemented at the Kazkovi Kids
kindergarten was extremely positive:
- Programme participants: The programme covered 14 children aged 4 to 6 years,
including boys and girls. The participants also included educators, kindergarten management and
parents of the children. Among the children were representatives of military families and internally
displaced persons. - Parents’ impressions: Overall, parents were satisfied with the programme, noting its
benefits for their children and their willingness to participate in similar activities in the future. Some parents noted positive changes in their children’s behaviour, while others did not notice any
significant changes or felt that more time was needed to assess the results. - Management assessment: The management of the kindergarten positively assessed
the programme, noting improvements in children’s emotional state, reduced aggression and
improved communication skills. The management also supports further implementation of such
programmes. - Interns’ impressions: The interns who participated in the Safe Space programme
were generally positive about their experience. They noted that the children were open and
interested, which contributed to successful interaction and a comfortable atmosphere. Some of the
interns said that it was a useful experience for them, which allowed them to deepen their
professional skills. However, they felt some anxiety at the beginning of the placement, which quickly passed thanks to the support of the tutors and administration.
Thus, the Safe Space programme made a generally positive impression on all those involved: parents,
caregivers, management, and interns who worked directly with children in the groups. Positive changes in behaviour and emotional state are reported by both the children’s parents and the kindergarten
management and teachers. This indicates the feasibility and effectiveness of this programme and the need for its further implementation in preschooleducational institutions.
