Ivanna has two children, Emiliya*, 7, and Denis*, 19 months, and is pregnant with her third baby. They live in the Sumy region in northeastern Ukraine. Although Ivanna is determined to provide her children with the childhood they deserve, it can be almost impossible living so close to the frontline of the war in Ukraine.
Right from his first moments, Denis’ life has been far from normal. Just hours after coming into the world, Ivanna had to take her newborn into the shelter in the hospital due to the air raid alert and the risk of bombings. Ivanna says she felt joy when Denis was born, but that it was also mixed with fear as they were surrounded by bombardments.
While Denis is still too young to fully understand what’s happening, his older sister Emiliya is aware of the situation. Almost half of Emiliya’s life has been engulfed in war. She was four when the war started, and the family was caught in an occupied area when they went to stay with friends, which Ivanna says was terrifying. They couldn’t go outside due to the tanks and helicopters surrounding the area. They slept in their clothes with their documents in their pockets, ready for anything that might happen.
When the occupation ended, they returned to their home in Sumy and life was better, but since August 2024, the war has escalated in their area, and they go to sleep every night to the sound of drones and sirens.
A child’s inner experience
Save the Children has been working in Ukraine since 2014 and scaled up operations after the war escalated in February 2022. We’re working closely with multiple partners and have reached more than 240,000 children with protection services by establishing a country-wide network of 28 Child Friendly Spaces for children to play and communicate, as well as providing mental health and psychosocial support for children, parents and caregivers.
Emiliya* (7) attends a Child Friendly Space in a bomb shelter in Sumy, Ukraine.
Photo: Sacha Myers / Save the Children.
Emiliya attends one of these Child Friendly Spaces in Sumy, and Ivanna says it’s made a huge difference to her daughters’ wellbeing and ability to communicate with other children. Ivanna says the facilitators show genuine care for the children and ensure they feel included and heard.
“[Emiliya] enjoys the free communication; they ask about her opinions, why she behaves the way she does … At the start of each session, they ask about her mood and how her day was. At the end, they ask what she enjoyed or what might have upset her, inviting her to talk if she wants. It’s not just about drawing or activities - they care about [a] child’s inner experiences,” Ivanna tells us.
*Names have been changed to protect identities.