Ukraine: 160 000 children received mental health support from UNESCO in summer camps

While the war continues to have a considerable impact on the well-being and mental health of Ukrainians, UNESCO supported over 160,000 young people during the summer, organizing recreational camps and providing board games designed to develop their interpersonal and emotional skills.

In Ukraine, the time spent in a summer camp has always been a part of core childhood memories. From making new friends to joining surprise adventures - several weeks at a camp were a recreational break from school, opportunity to relax, develop a new hobby or just enjoy the nature with peers. This year, however, as Ukrainian children are spending their third summer in the midst of the ongoing war and show acute symptoms of mental trauma, they need more than just relaxation.

To support their well-being, UNESCO has provided nearly 400 camps in Ukraine with psychological activities to support the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children.

It looks like another game or a workshop, children gather around in a circle, surrounded by cards with small drawings on them, sheets of paper to fill out and color, and a teacher, who is ready to explain the rules. What happens next is essentially a psychological activity, which teaches childs to understand and process their emotions. It is one of many, planned for the duration of the camp. The team of kids aged 10 to 17 look at the cards with curiosity, they want to know more. At the same time, the adult in the room carefully listens to their answers, noting which of the childs are confident and open, and whichmight need more support later.

Many of the children who came to the camps have lost their parents, their relatives are active military personnel, veterans or are missing. They experience the loss of home, friends, massive power cuts, sleepless nights full of air raid alerts and missile strikes. Here they have the opportunity to work with qualified psychologists who help them go through negative emotions, reduce stress levels and develop strategies for adapting to new conditions.

One of the child participating to a camp had to leave her hometown to stay with her sister, while their parents remained in frequently attacked Kharkiv. She could not manage to sleep, was constantly missing her parents and feeling low. However, as she worked with a psychologist during the camp, using the emotional recognition cards and participated in group board games, she became calmer, more confident, and stopped focusing on the absence of her parent. Eventually her sleep improved as well as the overall mood.

Along its partners, UNESCO has been able to cover the full cost of 10 summer camps hosting 1000 children and provide the mental health activities and games for 159 000 more across 380 locations in Ukraine. The games are designed to develop the social skills, improve emotional awareness, and strengthen attention, memory, and cognitive skills. Under careful facilitation of teachers, childs team up and compete against each other, while learning how to negotiate, build strategies, communicate with other children, and cope with winning and losing.

As the new school year begins, Ukrainian children will face continued challenges. But the mental health support provided through these summer camps offers a glimmer of hope. By equipping these young, resilient minds with coping strategies, emotional awareness, and a sense of community, the camps are planting the seeds for long-term healing and growth. This is a part of a broader effort by UNESCO and partners to address the educational and psychosocial needs of Ukraine's youth.