The Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk joined the reading of therapeutic fairy tales for children affected by war. The reading took place at the Child Protection Centre. The event also discussed issues related to children's mental health in times of war.
The Vice Speaker read one of the stories from the book Brave Tales to the children.
"This is an amazing and very relevant book about the importance of children's mental health in wartime. All children, from preschoolers to teenagers, who are particularly sensitive and emotional in these difficult times. So much so that adults may not even be aware of the problems. I strongly recommend reading this book to adults, who also need support, warmth and a shoulder to lean on today, feeling especially responsible for the country, for their families and friends and their children. And sometimes adults go through various crises caused by the war much harder than children," said Olena Kondratiuk.
Brave Tales is based on the most important themes of life: friendship, support, separation, kindness, solidarity, loss, belonging to a community, courage, and faith in a common victory.
"I am very grateful to the authors of Brave Tales, in particular, Viktoriia Murovana, the author of the book's idea. It is about the values that distinguish us from those who came to our land and homes to do evil. This is an amazing book about what should unite us every day in bringing the victory of goodness and justice closer," shared her impressions Olena Kondratiuk.
As the Deputy Chairperson of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasised, the event also served as a reminder that more than 19,500 Ukrainian children have been abducted and taken to russia. They are torn from their homes, from their parents, from their relatives and guardians. They are subjected to psychological violence.
"We are doing everything we can, including at the level of parliamentary diplomacy, to draw attention to this issue. Parliaments around the world and the PACE have adopted resolutions condemning russia's crimes against Ukrainian children. However, the return process is very difficult, and only 387 children have been returned. And it is our responsibility as adults, together with the entire concerned world, to find ways and mechanisms to speed up and increase the number of Ukrainian children returned home," said Olena Kondratiuk.
At the same time, she noted that the return of children is only the beginning, because we must not forget that these children have undergone very difficult trials in actual captivity.
"Therefore, for those children who are returned, our state, together with specialists and child psychologists, must carry out painstaking psychological work. Restoring the mental health of children affected by the war, temporary occupation, abduction and deportation is a very important task for the whole society," said the Vice Speaker Olena Kondratiuk.
