The “Voices Camp” New Season Starts in the Carpathians! The “Voices of Children” Charitable Foundation, with the support of and in cooperation with the Olena Zelenska Foundation, launches a camp program for the war-affected children.
June 5, 2025
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This is the second joint initiative of the “Voices of Children” Charitable Foundation and the Olena Zelenska Foundation, aimed at supporting 10–15-year-old children who have experienced the traumatic experience of war, including children from families of IDPs, military personnel, and those living in front-line or de-occupied regions. Last year, during the camp’s six—four summer and two fall—sessions, more than 270 children participated and had the opportunity to relax and recover. The new season 2025 includes four sessions during the summer, each for 56 children. The first session of the “Voices Camp” starts today, on June 5.
Overall, the “Voices Camp” features a modern and expert approach to organizing children’s recreation, which includes four key areas:
The camp was created as a professional response to the needs of the war-affected children, in a safe space designed for rest, development, and psychological recovery. Thanks to the joint efforts of the “Voices of Children” Foundation and the Olena Zelenska Foundation, we combined expertise in working with children and made assistance even more accessible and high-quality.
Each activity at the camp is designed to help children discover their talents, develop communication, self-presentation, and teamwork skills, and find inner resources for psychological recovery. A team of experienced professionals, consisting of four camp leaders, two psychologists, and a host, works with children and adolescents, including an administrative group that ensures the smooth operation of the entire team.
“Our camps are designed to give children inner resources to overcome the war aftermath, support their needs, and increase stress resistance under challenging conditions. Every detail is essential: from a well-thought-out program with adaptation activities to the atmosphere of trust, a community of peers, and support from adult professionals. All activities are based on the Foundation’s developed psychological programs, which are created by considering modern approaches and scientifically based methods of psychosocial support for children. We thank the Olena Zelenska Foundation for supporting us on this path,” Olena Rozvadovska, Co-Founder of the “Voices of Children” Foundation, said.
“Many children who come to the camp have experiences such as losses, prolonged stress, and living in danger, which are entirely alien to childhood. Therefore, the Olena Zelenska Foundation prioritizes supporting initiatives that create a safe space for recreation and provide children with fundamental tools for recovery. The “Voices Camp” is much more than just a camp. This is an example of professional work with children that considers their experience, emotional condition, and the need for support. We are serious about ensuring that every child is not left alone with their experience but feels care, attention, professional support, and the opportunity to be heard,” Nina Horbachova, Director of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, said.
Psychologists and mentors recall the experience of last year’s “Voices Camp” and note that most children were withdrawn, shy, and not very active at the beginning of the session. Establishing communication and friendships with peers was also a challenge for some children. Most camp participants live in front-line areas, where access to offline education and extracurricular activities is very limited, so there was a lack of communication with peers.
After the camp ended, almost all the children were ready to participate in various activities, including psychological training and creative activities. Activities at the camp allowed children to express themselves in different areas and roles, feel their peers’ support, and gain positive experience in communication and interaction with experienced psychologists and mentors.
“On the last day of the camp, we received something that looked like woolen beads. And we tied colorful threads to each other on them. These were nodules for memory’s sake. If you became friends with someone, you would say warm words to each other and leave your thread on that person’s beads. This ceremony is my warmest memory of the “Voices Camp.” And the beads still hang on the wall in my room. I look at them and remember,” 15-year-old Liza Ishchenko from Kherson, last year’s camp participant, shares.
The “Voices of Children” Foundation is a Ukrainian charitable organization that provides psychological and psychosocial support and humanitarian assistance to war-affected children and families. It helps overcome the psychological consequences of the armed conflict and defends children’s rights. Started as a volunteer initiative in Eastern Ukraine 10 years ago, this organization is now one of the biggest and most systematic Ukrainian foundations to help children.
The Olena Zelenska Foundation is a Ukrainian charitable organization founded by Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, in 2022. The Foundation implements projects for children, adolescents, and youth in three main areas: family-based care development and support, children’s access to education and development, and psychosocial support for adolescents and youth. During the full-scale war years, more than 70 partners from more than 30 countries joined the Foundation’s projects.
