Forty Ukrainian children affected by the war have travelled to Italy for a two-week rehabilitation program. The trip took place as part of the humanitarian project of the Joint Center “Kids at Home UA”, implemented at the initiative of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Bring Kids Back UA initiative.
The rehabilitation trip was organized for children who were returned to Ukraine after Russian forces illegally deported them to Russia or occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as for children from families of fallen and missing Ukrainian defenders.
The rehabilitation program for children affected by Russian aggression is the result of long-term cooperation between the Joint Center under the SSU and the Holy See in Vatican, which has consistently supported humanitarian initiatives around the world.
“Russia tried to deprive these children not only of their homes, but also of their sense of security, childhood, and future. Our task is to do everything possible so that after returning, they receive quality psychological support, feel care, and have the opportunity to make plans for their lives again. That is why the Joint Center is systematically developing the ‘Kids at Home’ project together with international partners. We are grateful to the Holy See, the Embassy of Ukraine to the Holy See, and the Italian side for ensuring that this support becomes regular and helps our children believe in themselves, in people, and in their own future again,” said Andrii Pasternak, head of the Joint Center under the SSU.
The program includes teenagers from the Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Chernihiv, Sumy, and Kyiv regions.
“For almost two weeks, children from Ukraine will undergo psychological rehabilitation, participate in cultural and educational activities, and recover in a safe environment. We believe and are making every possible effort to ensure that every Ukrainian family separated by the war can be reunited again,” said Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the Special Envoy of the Holy See for Ukraine.
Since the launch of the “Kids at Home” project, the Joint Center under the SSU, in cooperation with the charitable organization GURU FUND, has organized rehabilitation programs for 257 children who experienced occupation, forced displacement, illegal deportation, or the loss of loved ones due to Russian aggression.
