“Old men can make war, but it is children who will make history.” – Ray Merritt
If we’ve learned anything in our 25 years of helping children, it’s that one summer can change a life forever. In 2025, we had the privilege of hosting 25 amazing children at the Kidsave Miracles Center in western Ukraine. They came from a shelter in the Mykolaiv region—an area that has been relentlessly targeted since the war began three years ago. Some were orphaned, having lost one or both parents during the war. Others were separated from their family due to circumstances like housing instability, food insecurity, or other factors preventing their family from properly caring for them.
While Kidsave's programs here in the U.S. serve youth ages 10 and older because of the great need for advocacy for older kids, our Ukrainian program serves all ages, working to help as many children as possible in these dire circumstances. This summer, the Miracles Center welcomed 25 kids, ages 3-17, including 5 groups of siblings.
The Miracles Center is designed to provide children with four key things:
- A safe environment away from the ongoing war;
- Therapeutic sessions with trauma-trained psychologists;
- Opportunities for recreation and play;
- A clear path towards family.
A Safe Environment Away from the War
For many children in Ukraine, war is all they have really known. For the last three years of their lives—a significant portion of their childhood—their homeland has been under attack. They have spent their formative years hiding in underground bunkers, unable to attend school or play outside. They have lived in a world dictated by the sound of air raid sirens, gunshots, and explosions.
The Miracles Center is a refuge for these kids, safely tucked in the Carpathian Mountains over 600 miles from the fighting in Mykolaiv. At the Center, the kids can play outside without fear. They can lie beneath the big blue sky, listen to the wind in the surrounding trees, feel the grass beneath their feet. They can rest in the comfort that only comes from knowing you are safe.
Therapeutic Services
Sometimes, at first, it can be hard for the children to accept that they truly are safe. They have spent so long in a state of high alert, knowing at any moment there could be an attack and their lives could be in danger. It can be difficult to let go of that constant fear. This is why therapy is a big component of the Miracles Center. Each day, the children meet with psychologists who have been trained in war trauma therapy. They have individual meetings as well as group sessions. They participate in activities like art and play therapy, designed to help them begin to process what they’ve been through. And in a matter of days, you can see the difference.
“During their time at the Center, the children showed significant positive changes in their emotional well-being and behavior,” said Nata Kravchuk, head of Kidsave Ukraine. “The children learned how to openly express their feelings and talk about their concerns. They began to show trust in the caretakers and develop friendships with one another. They started to smile and laugh and play more. You can tell they’re beginning to feel like children again.”
Opportunities to Play
An integral part of childhood is the opportunity to play. For many of these children, fun and games have become almost non-existent. In Mykolaiv and many regions across Ukraine, children can’t play outside for fear of being targeted. Places like schools, playgrounds, hospitals, and churches have all been targets of air raids. So many of these institutions have been destroyed across Ukraine, and the ones that remain feel unsafe.
At the Miracles Center, the kids have access to multiple play areas—both indoor and outdoor—and spend a large part of the day playing. There is a small indoor play area for the youngest children, a fully furnished playground for the older children, and a full-size soccer field with goals for the teenagers. The kids are also led in games together by staff and volunteers including relay races, follow-the-leader, dances, and arts and crafts.
In addition to playing at the Center, the kids are also treated to excursions. This summer, the kids took a trip to a local farm where they were able to meet and feed some of the animals. The group also took a hike in the Carpathian Mountains, visiting a lake and a waterfall. For many of these kids, this was their first time exploring a new place beyond their hometown.
A Path Forward
The most important aspect of the Miracles Center is what it gives kids when they leave. While the children focus on having fun and feeling safe, our staff works alongside child welfare agents in Ukraine to create a permanency plan for each child. Whenever possible, children are reunited with their biological families or placed with relatives or kin. For those that can’t return home, loving foster or adoptive families are found.
Although all children across Ukraine have been deeply impacted by the war, those without families have suffered the most. Weathering the ongoing war in an orphanage or institution, without the care and support of a family, only compounds the trauma. While the kids are at the Center, our team works tirelessly to ensure they can leave with a family rather than return to a shelter or institution.
This summer, we are proud to say that of the 25 children, 13 were either reunited with their biological family or placed with a foster family. For the other 12 children, our team is continuing to work with local child welfare agencies to determine the most appropriate next step for them.
Support Our Work
The Kidsave Miracles Center is changing lives, but we need your help to keep up the good work! Make a gift or contact Tatiana Stafford at tatiana@kidsave.org to learn about available sponsorship and naming opportunities.
