Strong Hearts: Psychosocial Support for Children of Heroes

The Carpathians became a place where children and their caregivers could finally exhale for the first time in a long while. Not to «forget about the hardship», but to face it together with professionals—in a safe space with time for conversation, play, quiet, and support. This is what we set out to do with «Strong Hearts: Psychosocial Support for Children of Heroes», a project implemented together with SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine.

Our goal was ambitious: to give children who have lost one or both parents, and their legal guardians, access to quality psychological support where it is otherwise limited. From August to November, participants combined time in nature with individual counseling, art therapy and psychoeducational sessions. All activities were led by certified psychologists who took into account the needs of each family.

«It’s a break from everyday life… it’s become easier,» shares Yulia, a project participant. When asked about the changes in her son’s well-being, she replied:: «He’s calmer now and was excited all the time — he didn’t even have time to sit on his phone.»

Psychologists noted how anxiety decreased, interest in connecting with others returned, and mood became more stable. Adults grew more open to conversation, and children — to play and new friendships. It’s not a «magic wand», but steady work with emotions that brought a tangible effect already during the camp stay.

Key figures:

• 232 children and their caregivers attended the camp;
• 27 resource groups for caregivers;
• 33 resource groups for children;
• 5 lectures for caregivers;
• 82 individual counseling sessions.

What matters most to us in these results? When a child laughs not out of «politeness», but for real. When a caregiver says, «I know what to do next.» When a family goes home with simple but effective tools: how to talk about difficult things, how to reduce tension, how to support one another every day.

This material was created as part of the «SOS Children. Emergency Assistance Program» from the international charitable organization SOS Children’s Villages.