As you can imagine, the war with Russia has had a devastating impact on the young people ACET Ukraine work with.
The team has continued to provide their programme in person wherever possible but has maintained connections online when this has not been viable.
The volunteer leaders, as well as some of the teenagers who attend ACET youth clubs, have been actively involved in providing humanitarian aid and emotional support for their fellow citizens who have been displaced by the war.
ACET Ukraine also started its ‘Teens and Joy’ project last summer to help their youth process the trauma they have experienced, through art therapy and consultations with a psychologist, to find hope - and even joy.
In July and August alone, 512 teenagers in 14 cities were supported. 75% of those who took part had migrated from front-line cities and Russian-occupied territories.
13-year-old Dmytro tells his story:
"When I left Mariupol, we drove past the places where I had been recently going for walks, but everything was destroyed. I wasn’t sure what happened to my friends, some of them might have already been dead. There were corpses everywhere.
The most painful moment for me was when I found out that a shell landed in our house, and everything that I loved had burned down.
I didn’t have any friends in the new city. I didn’t know what to expect next, so I became depressed.
One day, when I came to a project meeting for migrants, I was invited to ACET’s Relationships Club. I found friends at the club. I learnt about the essence of a relationship with friends, parents, but most importantly with myself.
You helped me to survive, to keep on going, to dream and to restore myself! You taught me how to live in a new reality and to help others."
A HUGE thank you to those of you who helped raise over £7,000 last year to support the Teens & Joy project. If you didn’t get a chance to give, we do still need funding for this work – please click the button below to give and show your support.