Source: Save the Children
Children are calling on world leaders to ensure they are at the centre of Ukraine’s reconstruction as governments and donors meet in Poland this week to mobilise investment for Ukraine after four years of full-scale war, said Save the Children.
In an open letter to state leaders ahead of the annual Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk, 16 children and young people from Save the Children’s child advisory group in Ukraine asked that decision-makers prioritise their right to education, housing and healthcare.
The children called for reliable internet access and equipment to allow them to study for exams.
The children wrote: “We have studied by candlelight. We sat in bomb shelters instead of classrooms. Some of us took exams right after a night interrupted by air raid sirens.”
Inna, 15, who will be entering her final year of high school in September, added: “Even during air raid alarms and power outages, we continue learning.”
The children also asked for housing support for children and young people who have lost their homes as well as mental health and psychosocial support for adolescents.
Dasha, 18, said: “War leaves scars that are not always visible. Many of us need mental health support to cope with what we have experienced and move forward.”
Four years since the full-scale war began, children in Ukraine face a deepening humanitarian crisis. Since February 2022, at least 3,500 have been killed or injured, with many more exposed to repeated trauma, loss and insecurity. Over 1,500 days of war in Ukraine have displaced 3.9 million people inside the country, including about 860,000 children.
In a caution to leaders, the children wrote: “We know that you, adults, are now deciding what our country will look like. But if these decisions are made without us, many of us will simply leave. Not because we do not love Ukraine. But because we will not feel that this country is ours too. And then, there will be no one left to build a new society.”
The children also urged that recovery efforts consider children who face additional barriers such as making shelters and schools accessible for children with disabilities.
Sonia Khush, Save the Children Country Director in Ukraine, speaking from the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdansk, said:
“Over four years of full-scale war have changed the lives of children in Ukraine forever. Forced from their homes and schools, separated from loved ones, and living in constant fear of air raid alerts, drones and explosions, children, despite playing no part in the war, have had their childhoods ripped away.
“Thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed, playgrounds have been bombed into the ground, and repeated attacks on critical infrastructure have left their homes without power and water.
“In considering how to support Ukraine to recover from this war, world leaders and donors need to put children’s needs and perspectives at the centre. As they have told us: children are the future of Ukraine, and we cannot leave their needs behind. Without them there will be no one left to build a new society.”
Save the Children is also calling for the humanitarian response for Ukraine – which is currently 56% funded – to be fully resourced while attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including homes, schools, and hospitals, must immediately cease.
Save the Children has been working in Ukraine since 2014. We have dramatically scaled up our operations since full-scale war broke out. Since February 2022, our team in Ukraine has reached more than 4.7 million people. including more than 1.9 million children, of which 448,000 have received education support.
About Save the Children NZ:
Save the Children works in 120 countries across the world. The organisation responds to emergencies and works with children and their communities to ensure they survive, learn and are protected.
Save the Children NZ currently supports international programmes in Fiji, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea. Areas of work include child protection, education and literacy, disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation, and alleviating child poverty.