In August, the Estonian Refugee Council’s Ukraine team visited a transit centre in Voloske and a support centre in Dnipro, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, to see how donations raised in Estonia in the spring have helped people there. Thanks to the generosity of Estonian donors, €2,000 was used to purchase toys, books, board games and craft materials for the children’s areas at the two centres, helping children feel supported and safe during difficult times.
During the visit, our team visited two very different places: a transit centre in Voloske and a permanent support centre in Dnipro. While their purposes are different, both provide people with a safe environment where they can receive support and feel a little more secure, even if only for a moment.
In Voloske, children can feel safe while they play
The transit centre in Voloske supports internally displaced people arriving in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, people evacuated from areas of active hostilities, as well as children and people with disabilities. For many families, the centre is their first stop after leaving home.
The Estonian Refugee Council supported the centre’s children’s area with play, creative and educational materials. Thanks to donations from people in Estonia, the centre received drawing materials, modelling clay, LEGO sets, board games, sports equipment and balls, bracelet-making kits and other supplies for activities and play.
The need for this support became apparent during an earlier visit. The centre’s team explained that the existing children’s area needed additional materials. And, it quickly became clear during our August visit just how important this space is. While parents are busy with registration, documents, accommodation and other practical matters, children can play, draw and simply be children. Some children spend half an hour there, others a whole day, and sometimes even longer.
“The children’s area is one of the most in-demand spaces in our centre and it is used a lot,” said the head of the centre Vadym. He said it would be difficult to imagine the centre’s daily work without it, as the space helps children feel safe and gives them a chance to be children despite the frightening reality of war. Toys are used up, sometimes break, and sometimes an item that has become special to a child is given to them to take along when they leave.
One particularly touching example is the story of a three-year-old child who had been sheltering in a basement before being evacuated. For the child, even an ordinary drawing pad was something very special. Specialist of the outreach team at the ‘Posmishka UA’ Charitable Foundation Iryna recalls that the child was allowed to take the pad with them when they left – something that brought them great joy.
The Dnipro support centre is a place people can return to
In Dnipro, we visited the MyRazom support centre for internally displaced people from Kramatorsk District. Unlike the transit centre in Voloske, people do not stay here for just a few days. They can return regularly whenever they need or wish to. It is a permanent place of support that people come back to again and again, with some having done so for several years.
Around 10,000 people are currently registered with the centre. It provides psychological and other forms of support, as well as group activities and events for children and adults. Children can play chess, draughts and other board games, as well as take part in sports activities. With the support of donors, we bought a myriad of board games and several adventure novels to the centre, including The Fifteen-Year-Old Captain, Captain Grant’s Children, Ivanhoe, Treasure Island and Robinson Crusoe.
The support provided by the Estonian Refugee Council was shaped by the interests and wishes of the children themselves. According to centre manager Olha, the team looked at which games, books and educational activities children were most interested in.
“Coming here is very important for our children at the moment. Games and playing help them cope with the impact of the war, give them an opportunity to forget the terrible things for a while, and instead spend time talking and playing with each other.”
The Dnipro support centre is not only for children. Adults also meet there, including a women’s group that gathers every Saturday. The centre has become a place where people can meet, stay connected, create and maintain a sense of community even when they are forced to live far from home.
Thank you to everyone who donated and helped make the children’s areas at the Voloske and Dnipro centres more welcoming places for children.