The war significantly disrupted access to education, medical treatment, and social services for children with cancer. Many families had to relocate to continue treatment, while others remained in dangerous areas. The war also complicated efforts to deliver aid and coordinate charitable support.
In 2022, ISAR Ednannia supported the public organization Sumy-based "Parents of Children with Cancer" and enhanced their ability to provide quality services to families with children battling cancer. This initiative included developing digital information and communication resources, organizing in-person art therapy sessions, and holding meetings with psychologists to increase parents' awareness of social and legal support issues.
Thanks to the support from ISAR Ednannia's "Emergency Support to Civil Society Projects" grants competition, "Parents of Children with Cancer" conducted a series of psychological sessions from December 2022 to March 2023. 16 parents and 10 children in the hematology department of the Sumy Regional Children's Clinical Hospital attended these sessions.
Marina Volkova, a mother of a child with cancer, shared her experience of the psychological and art therapy sessions: "Spending two months in the pediatric oncology department feels like life has come to a standstill. It was challenging to engage my daughter in anything beyond pain, tears, and long-term treatment. But after just one session with the art therapist, my daughter began to smile, plan her next session, and choose clothes for the meeting. When I attended a session myself, I understood her enthusiasm. Meetings with psychologist Victoria Ratyeva helped me not to focus solely on my daughter's illness — it’s all temporary. I realized that I also need to take care of myself because my child needs a happy, confident mother."
As part of their support efforts, the "Parents of Children with Cancer" team offered counseling services to Sumy Oblast people and created and distributed informational leaflets about the organization's assistance and activities. Overall, the project reached 5,000 Ukrainians.
"I felt the impact of the project's meetings. Group psychological practices helped me initiate changes within myself, which I noticed both internally and externally. I allowed myself to focus more on my identity as a woman. Special thanks go to the children's art therapy - the necessity for our kids. These sessions bring variety into their lives, lift their spirits, and prepare them for positive changes. I am grateful to everyone involved in organizing these events and look forward to future meetings," expressed Julia Romanyuk, a mother of a child with cancer who has been undergoing tough treatment for a year, has experience receiving international medical services, and whose child's father is in the military and currently in a combat zone.
The project, implemented by the public organization "Parents of Children with Cancer," aimed to enhance the capacity to provide quality services to families raising children with cancer and young people with disabilities who had experienced childhood cancer. This was achieved through the creation of digital information and communication resources and made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity implemented by ISAR Ednannia in partnership with the Ukrainian Center of Independent Political Research (UCIPR) and Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM). The contents are not the responsibility of ISAR Ednannia and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
