In October 2016, 20 Ukrainian children that have lost their fathers in the war, visited Scotland for a 10 day holiday. The visit was organised by the Ukrainian Children of War project - a cooperation between the Dnipro Appeal Charity, the River of Life Charity in Ukraine, the Ukrainian Consulate in Edinburgh, the Ukrainian Community Centre in Edinburgh, the Ukrainian Ministry of Social Policy, as well as volunteers from across Scotland.
During their stay in Scotland, the children lived with host families in, and around, Edinburgh, and took part in a number of activities and experiences. They visited the Castle, Dynamic Earth, Deep Sea World, Incholm Island, Edinburgh Zoo, had a boat trip on Loch Lomond, visited Discovery Point in Dundee, St. Andrews and tried fish&chips in Anstruther.
Friendships were made between the host families and the children that have continued to grow.
The Ukrainian Children of War was intended to be a one-time project, but getting to know the children and hearing their stories of their lives back home, made us determined to continue to support them after they returned to Ukraine.
For Christmas we sent each family a Christmas present from Scotland, and we are now in the process of setting up a new registered charitable company - Ukrainian Development Charity - that will take over the Ukrainian Children of War project and other charitable projects in Ukraine related to children, medical health, social problems etc.
Our first project now is to send the same group of 20 children, their siblings, and their mothers on a 5-day trip to the Carpathian mountains in June 2017. There will be a psychologist travelling with them to assist them in coping with their loss, and also representatives from River of Life in Ukraine will ensure everything runs smoothly. The kids will stay in cabins connected to a hotel, where all meals will be provided and activities like horse back riding and hiking are available.
https://www.facebook.com/ukrchildren