Some parents tell the kids it’s a game,” Anton Eine, a science fiction writer in Ukraine, told BBC. “We are trying to tell our son the truth, but in a softer way, adapted to the mind of a three-year-old kid. We tell him that bad soldiers attacked us and the good soldiers, the ones with the Ukrainian flag, are the ones who protect us, and you don’t need to worry here in this sanctuary.”
He told the British broadcaster that while his own son’s drawings don’t appear to show any signs of trauma, some of Anton’s friends have older children, and the pictures they draw clearly show they’ve been affected by the situation.
This is a loss of innocence, and that too in a brutal manner—with bombs exploding all around and air raid sirens blowing all the time. Instead of worrying about the education of their kids, Ukrainians are worried about their physical safety.
As children, like men and women, face serious threats to their life and limb, the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) has sprung into action. The first batch of humanitarian supplies by Unicef arrived in Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 5. This came from Unicef’s Global Supply and Logistics Hub in Copenhagen. It is part of a six-truck convoy containing an estimated 62 tonnes of supplies on its way to the war-ravaged country.
“The situation for children and families in Ukraine is increasingly desperate,” said Murat Sahin, Unicef Representative in Ukraine. “These supplies will help provide much-needed support to women, children, and health care workers.”
For the children growing up in eastern Ukraine, this is not the first war they have endured in their short lives, ABC News reported. “In the past week, children have been forced to spend nights in basements while babies have been born in bomb shelters.”
As per Unicef estimates, as many as 7.5 million Ukrainian children are threatened by war. Since the conflict escalated, families have been sheltering underground, cut off from basic services. Hospitals and maternity wards have moved their patients to basements. Across the country, hundreds of thousands of people are without safe drinking water due to damage to water system infrastructure. The country is running low on critical medical supplies and has had to halt urgent efforts to curb a polio outbreak.
Unicef Ukraine Crises Response for Children is appealing for a total of $349 million which includes $276 million for its programs inside Ukraine and requires an additional $73 million to assist children in neighboring countries. Unicef works in over 190 countries and territories to save children’s lives, defend their rights, and help them fulfill their potential, from early childhood through adolescence. It works with partners around the world to promote policies and expand access to services that protect all children, its website says.
Unicef has helped reduce child mortality all over the world by working to reach the most vulnerable children, everywhere. It works around the world to support quality learning for every girl and boy, especially those in the greatest danger of being left behind. It works around the world to reduce child poverty and shield girls and boys from its lifelong consequences.
Unicef is on the ground before, during, and after emergencies, working to reach children and families with lifesaving aid and long-term assistance.
Unicef works all over the world to empower girls and women, and to ensure their full participation in political, social, and economic systems. Unicef works with partners in every sector to co-create innovative solutions that accelerate progress for children and young people.
Unicef delivers sustainable access to lifesaving supplies where they are most needed, accelerating results for the most vulnerable children. Unicef’s global programs and initiatives are grounded in rigorous research and thoughtful analysis of the situation of children.
