Uniting young Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) with their local counterparts within an entire neighborhood may seem like an uphill task. Yet, this is exactly what the regional team of United Voices in Action in the Khmelnytska Oblast has successfully accomplished.

In a recent social integration event hosted in Khmelnytskyi, children who relocated to the city following the onset of the full-scale Russian invasion engaged in a series of activities. Participating students from three local schools took part in sporting events, tackled historical and mathematical challenges, indulged in drawing, created art, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience of teamwork.

“The venue for this gathering was school No. 28, incidentally, one of Ukraine’s largest, which amply accommodated our group of over 120 children from various schools around the Ozerna neighborhood. We organized a plethora of engaging activities, enabling IDP children and local Khmelnytskyi residents to interact and bond. Together, they conceptualized a ‘car of the future’, designed the portrait of an ideal friend, cracked mathematical puzzles, and deepened their understanding of the city’s history,” explains Serhiy Yatskovskyi, the regional coordinator for the United Voices in Action program in Khmelnytska Oblast.

This pattern of events is currently being echoed across various Ukrainian cities, with the common aim of integrating displaced children into their new communities and facilitating the formation of new friendships.

This publication was made possible as part of the United Voices in Action program, implemented by IREX together with Charity Foundation Stabilization Support Services with the support of the U.S. Department of State.