UNHIDE UKRAINE

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UNHIDE UKRAINE

The UNHIDE Ukraine project (2022 - TODAY)

ART IS LIKE A LANGUAGE THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS,
THAT CONNECTS US AND NEEDS NO RULES OR BORDERS.

In times of war and uncertainty, we believe in the healing and unifying power of creativity – especially for children and young people. They are often the most affected by the consequences of war and need support to process their experiences. Creativity offers them hope and opens pathways to cope with trauma, develop new perspectives, express their emotions, build self-confidence, and regain a sense of normalcy. It fosters resilience and a positive outlook, even in the most challenging moments.

With UNHIDE Ukraine, we embrace creativity as a tool for transformation and regeneration. Our mission is to give children and young people a voice, nurture their creativity, and help them find new paths in a world marked by conflict. Creativity becomes a beacon of hope, empowering them to look ahead with strength and determination.

We implement UNHIDE Ukraine in close partnership with ARTHELPS, an organization we have worked with globally since 2016 under the UNHIDE initiative, and with our local partner Save Ukraine, which has tirelessly rescued children and families affected by war since 2014.

ART DOESN’T EVEN NEED WORDS –
YET IT CAN BE SO LOUD. LOUD ENOUGH TO CHANGE THE WORLD.

Ukraine
Kyiv

UNHIDE
Hub

In the heart of Ukraine, a place is being created that fosters hope and unity during a difficult time: the UNHIDE Hub Ukraine. This project was launched to use art and creativity as a means of support for children and young people suffering from the effects of war.

The UNHIDE Hub is more than just a creative space – it is a safe haven, a meeting place, and a center of inspiration. Here, children and young people can express their thoughts and feelings through creativity, process trauma, and connect with others.

The vision of the Hub is to promote creativity as a means of resilience. Especially for children and young people, who often suffer the most from the psychological and emotional consequences of war, the Hub is intended to be a protected and healing space.

At the UNHIDE Hub Ukraine, various art therapy workshops are offered, tailored to the individual needs of the children. From painting and crafting to music, dance, and theater – the range of activities is as diverse as the children themselves. These workshops promote self-expression and self-confidence. Additionally, the Hub fosters a sense of community, where children and young people from diverse backgrounds can come together. In this way, the Hub becomes a bridge that connects and strengthens mutual acceptance.

In the basement of the UNHIDE Hub, there is a specially designed safe room that provides security during air raids, not only for the children participating in our workshops but also for the staff working with them. This room is particularly important as long as war remains the daily reality for people in Ukraine. In a region still affected by conflict, the Hub offers not only creative opportunities but also a safe refuge – a place that provides protection and a sense of security in uncertain times.

Ukraine
National

UNHIDE
Pop-Hub

With the new Pop-Hub project, we also reach children and young people who have no opportunity to participate in therapeutic offerings in larger cities in Ukraine, thus supporting those who have received little help so far but urgently need it due to traumatic experiences and great external as well as internal distress. Traumatised children and young people are given the chance to spontaneously take part in creative workshops, guided by trauma, drama, and art therapists.

In October 2024, we brought the UNHIDE Pop-Hub to Ukraine and held the first workshop in the space lovingly called the “Whale” by the children. 24 children from war-affected regions such as Kharkiv and Donetsk were able to forget their daily struggles for a moment. Supported by experienced art therapists, they created bags, T-shirts, and pendants using ironing beads and foil – each piece a personal artwork. The “Whale” provided not only a magical space for creativity but also a quiet retreat where the children could dream and find peace. For many, it was the first time in a long while that they felt safe and free. Their shining eyes and the joy in their creations made this day unforgettable.

A Story We Want to Share

A little girl (8 years old) wanted to design a shopping bag with her name but didn’t know where to start. With the help of an art therapist, she chose colors for the letters and created her own design. Together, they cut out the first letter, and she did the rest on her own. By the end, she was so proud of her bag that she decided to make a second one for her mother.

“My mom is sad because we had to leave our home because of the war,” she said. “I miss our home and my friends too.” With the bag, she wanted to bring a smile to her mother’s face – and a piece of hope.

Report
Oct 2024

Hope amidst Adversity: Our Mission in Ukraine
Rea Garvey

I’m just back from the Ukraine after a week of visiting the many great people we support and work with there. We have nearly finished our renovation of the creative hub & therapy centre for children in Kiev, the work has been a challenge for all involved but the goal of offering children a safe place, a place where they can be children again has helped us overcome every obstacle. Our journey there was long and tiring but seeing our friends again, safe and in good health, erased the 32 hours before. We were bringing food to the orphanages we have been supporting since years and care packages for families at the front from the good people of Bochum. We visited the renovation work in Kiev to see the first story finished and already in action. Our good friends and partners “Save Ukraine” and “Arthelps” were already bringing the warmth of hope into work spaces at the creative Hub.

 

The war is no longer hidden at the front, the sirens are heard regularly everywhere and the constant threat of drones is visible in the nighttime sky. The whirring noise of the drone followed by machine gun fire from the defence forces is no longer a story you heard from someone else it is very much visible in Kiev and other cities we visited. Trying to be a beacon of hope and positivity was difficult this time round, children found it difficult to smile without remembering the hell where they had come from or those they had lost.I pray to God that these beautiful people soon know peace, that their children can begin to know hope and healing instead of the constant threat and fear that surrounds them. I have met friends who will return to the front in the knowledge that they may not return. Our work there is not important it is quintessential, when those who have seen the suffering turn their back then hope walks out the door.

If you have a moment and you are a person of prayer then please pray for the innocent children suffering due to war, if you do not pray then please send them your thoughts and wishes for health, hope and safe haven. I do not like to contribute to the waves of bad news that confront us daily but I promise you we will continue our work in the knowledge that this to will pass and when it does we will already be building the blocks of those lives that will later weave the patterns of our future.

God Bless
Rea

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