From Ukraine to Georgia: stories of hope and resilience

I, Olga Ivashchenko, came to Georgia after the start of the war in March 22, alone with two children. Alone with two children. At that time, the eldest was 6, the youngest almost 4 years old.

I resolved the issue with the school quite quickly, but with the Georgian kindergartens, it was not possible. The younger son did not accept Georgian kindergartens at all, he was constantly depressed. That’s why I started looking for alternatives, private ones were prohibitively expensive and not affordable for me.

A husband remained in Ukraine, our small private family business was closed, no one cared about building gardens in a country where rockets exploded every day. My budget was minimal.

In October 2022, I tried to bring my son to Kids Club, and to my surprise, he adapted quickly.

Then a new stage of our Georgian life began, which we shared with a large community of Ukrainian families who ended up in Georgia.

The son attends the club, an active social life has begun. Communication, discussion of urgent problems, and new friends, both for the children and for me, became a real lifesaver.

When medical care opened, I was incredibly happy, because the prices for services are high, and how good that, thanks to the program, I was able to immediately take an x-ray of the head of my youngest son and immediately undergo a consultation with a neurologist, after an unfortunate fall on the playground.

I spent a lot of time in the Kids Club, useful communication with a psychologist on important topics, ordinary communication in a creative atmosphere – all this helped to recover at least a little morally.

And the opportunity to receive the help of a psychiatrist was very appropriate, after I learned about the neurological features of my eldest son.

It was after the sessions with the psychiatrist that I started looking for a job abroad, looked more clearly at my plans and understood the needs of my children and myself.

I am currently writing these words from Dubai. And I am sure that if it were not for the support of Monika and the Kids Club and this project, I would never have dared to go through this difficult path of finding a job abroad.

Such projects change lives. At least three lives have changed for the better, since Kids Club, my – refugee from Ukraine, and two boys.

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My name is Yulia, originally from Irpen, Kiev region.

I am the mother of Yasmina, who is now 6 years old. We’ve been going to Kids Club “Happy Me” for almost two years now.

Happy Me helps her socialize in another country among strangers; gives her new friends; develops creativity through art and music lessons; gradually prepares for first grade thanks to classes with teachers.

Special thanks for medical assistance. Through the program, I was able to receive the necessary recommendations from qualified doctors.

Meetings and group classes with a psychologist and excellent specialist Antonina helped a lot to restore my morale.

The art master classes pleased us with their warm and relaxed atmosphere and showed that each of us has hidden talents.

It is pleasant to note that Yasmina goes to the Kids Club with great pleasure and has become more sociable, open and smiling. Often, when I come to pick her up in the evening, she doesn’t want to leave, she’s so comfortable and interested in being there. Thanks to all the staff for being able to create such an atmosphere and organize such a variety of leisure activities for children, thanks to the project fo making all of it possible.

Happy Me really helps to develop the child comprehensively, gives the opportunity and time for work, which would be impossible if there were not such a wonderful space.

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My name is Anna, I am the mother of Yaroslava, who recently turned 6 years old. We arrived from Kyiv in the spring of 2022 to Tbilisi, expecting to stay here for several months and return home. But, unfortunately, the war dragged on for a long time and therefore questions arose with employment, with registering children for school and kindergarten… The eldest child went to a Ukrainian school (for which we are very grateful to Georgia), but we did not find a Ukrainian kindergarten. It was possible, of course, to enroll in a Georgian kindergarten, but we understood that for a small child who had lost stability due to parting with his usual environment, and who had a hard time enduring separation from home, getting into an unfamiliar language environment would be an additional trauma. Therefore, we were very happy about the appearance of the Kids Club and the opportunity to be there almost from the very beginning of its existence. The presence of a large space for children, a wonderful team of educators, the energy and creative approach of the leader and, of course, the presence of people with similar mentalities nearby were very attractive. The children quickly found a common language, are happy to go to kindergarten, feel safe, have learned a lot, have become more open, cheerful, and are learning to trust people again. And not only thanks to general development methods, but also the opportunity to undergo art therapy, music and sports classes, excursions and colorful holidays, and participation in many interesting events held in the city. Very quickly, the Kids Club became for everyone not only a place where you can safely leave your child for the whole day and go to work, but a second home in which you can not only communicate with your fellow countrymen, but also get help, information, and develop both children and parents . Art therapy classes added self-confidence, helped me find peace of mind and calm down. In classes with psychologists, we discovered a lot of new things about our children, the elements of communication with them, and learned to survive the traumas we received together. Received individual psychological assistance. Zumba, Salsa and Yoga classes helped tone the body and relax after a hard week of work. We can see from our daughter that she is comfortable, interested, and safe in kindergarten (thanks for the opportunity to feed our children)), she has learned a lot during this time. I am very grateful for such great help at such a difficult time for our family!

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My name is Anna. I came to Georgia with my son (2 years old) from Mariupol. Not knowing what to do, where to go and mentally exhausted.

I found the Kids Club “Happy Me” in the telegram channel. When I got there, I found out that the club was conducting classes on the Swiss project, including personal meetings with a psychiatrist and group meetings with a psychologist, art therapy, yoga and Zumba. In personal meetings with a psychiatrist, I managed to overcome my fear of loud sounds, since I was at the epicenter of the bombing. With a psychologist, I established contact with the child and gained experience interacting with him. During the art classes, mothers and children had great fun expressing their emotions in paintings.

Zumba and yoga are about physical health.

I also found a job in the club and my son goes to the club with great pleasure and attends all classes. As a mother, it is very important for me that the child develops. The “Happy Me” club and the Swiss project brought us together and gave us hope for the future. I would like to thank and say Thank you for this opportunity.

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I Kremskaya Ekaterina arrived in 2022, on August 21, in Tbilisi. I left occupied Kherson only with hope and my skills. Thanks to the help in Georgia and the professionals in their field, I found a job in the project at the Kids Club as an art therapist. Thanks to this project, I got the opportunity to provide financial stability for my life and do what I love – teach children and adults and paint at Kids Club. The project is not just work, but necessary help for all refugees, like me from Ukraine, who were looking for a safe place and any quality help. The project gave me the opportunity to grow and develop, work with children again, and feel needed and useful. Also, thanks to being surrounded by professionals on all sides, we restored and worked through our personal mental traumas. It was a great time in a friendly atmosphere, with professionals in their field and surrounded by many happy children.

Kids Club is implemented within the EU-funded project “Support for Ukrainian Children and Woman Displaced by War” implemented by IDP Woman Association “Consent” (IDPWA) in partnership with Foundation of Economic Education of Georgia (GEFF).