The Ukrainian Red Cross Community Center in Kamianets-Podilskyi is fostering an inclusive environment for children and their families

Inclusion is about more than the opportunity to learn together. It also means having access to support, participating in community life, socialising with peers and being able to grow and develop in a safe environment.

As part of the Small Grants for Social Services and Early Intervention project, the Center’s team provides social case management for families raising orphans and children deprived of parental care. Currently, 29 children from the Kamianets-Podilskyi community receive support.

The Center’s specialists help families access social services and government support, obtain the necessary documents and address other everyday challenges. Particular attention is paid to helping children and their foster carers understand one another and supporting families in difficult situations.

Another important area of work is supporting children in inclusive education. Five children receive individual support from teaching assistants in educational settings. This helps them take part in lessons and group activities, interact with their peers and gradually develop greater independence.

However, an inclusive environment is built not only in classrooms and kindergartens. The Center’s team also organises creative activities, psychoeducation sessions, training sessions and support meetings for children and adults.

This year, families also took part in a three-day creative camp as part of the Creative Bridges project. Children participated in creative workshops, sports competitions, quests and team activities. They also took part in sessions with a psychologist and learned together about safety rules and the basics of a healthy lifestyle.

These activities help create a space where children can not only receive the support they need, but also learn to interact with others, make friends, try new things and take an active part in community life.

The Small Grants Project is supported by the UK Government through the SPIRIT project, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, the Fund for Social Protection of Persons with Disabilities and UNICEF Ukraine, and administered by ISAR Ednannia.