Your incredible support in the spring of 2022 allowed Striving For All to help Harmonia Orphanage evacuate from the Kharkiv war zone to the West of Ukraine and get a building equipped to serve as a new home for the kids. It became a haven to move more than 100 orphaned children and brought a glimmer of hope to the children’s lives. However, the trauma from losing family members, physical injuries inflicted during wartime, and uncertainty about tomorrow remained.
This spring, our co-founder, Olena Baykur, and a skilled art therapist from Mission Arts Center, traveled to Chernivtsi, Ukraine, to visit the orphanage and deliver a series of in-person art therapy workshops.
The children and staff were stunned that someone cared enough to travel for days from afar to spend time with them. The art therapy sessions resonated profoundly with all age groups, from four to sixteen. The children eagerly lined up daily, waiting to participate in these therapeutic sessions. Many sought one-on-one time with the art therapist during their precious recess moments.
The artwork created by the children was breathtakingly revealing of the deep trauma they endured due to the war. The scars of their family losses were evident in every brushstroke and pencil mark. Through the power of art therapy, these sessions became a sanctuary where the children could freely express themselves, finding solace and healing.
What’s up ahead for these kids? Imminent struggles with food shortages, as support dwindled over the year, and it is now becoming hard to meet even the basic needs. They need to eat, but they also need to heal. Rehabilitation is one of the core needs for these kids as well. Striving For All aims to secure food supplies for the upcoming months and carry on with proving art therapy.
We hope you join us, and together, we illuminate their path to a brighter future.
#StrivingForAll #HopeForChildren #ArtTherapy #MakingADifference #BrighterFuture