November 27, 2024
News
This year Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine focused on improving the living conditions and leisure activities of families with children evacuated from the war zone to Western Ukraine. Many of these families are raising children with various forms of disabilities. To help them develop and integrate safely, we provided two barrier-free playgrounds to the cities of Uzhhorod in Transcarpathia and Truskavets in the Lviv region.
Convenient and useful for everyone
We opened the first barrier-free playground on September 1, the Day of Knowledge, in Bozdosh Park in Uzhhorod, Transcarpathian region.
This is an accessible public space that aims to promote social inclusion and comprehensive development of young citizens, including many internally displaced children. The playground meets the needs of children in wheelchairs and children with various disabilities.
"The playground is designed to make it comfortable and safe for everyone to play together. For this purpose, there are special swings for children in wheelchairs and educational play equipment,” says Natalia Mackova, project manager of Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine.
The authors of the idea to equip a barrier-free playground in Uzhhorod are the Charitable Foundation Centre of Hope and the Coordination Council for Internally Displaced Persons of Uzhhorod. In March 2024, this NGO project won the Ideaton ‘Create Your Own Uzhhorod: Integrated, Inclusive, Safe’ and received financial support from international organisations such as UNHCR and Caritas Czech Republic. The project was carried out by the NGO Nehemiah Ukraine with the support of the Uzhhorod City Council. We are grateful to our partners for their cooperation and for providing local children fabulous space for leisure time activities.
A place of unity with the Garden of Children's Dreams
We believe that in times of war we should support children's dreams. And dreams are born where we feel good. This November, we presented an accessible space for sports and playground to children of the resort city Truskavets in the Lviv region.
Thanks to special equipment and swings, all children, even those in wheelchairs, can now join in the games and entertainment in the central park.
“Today, Truskavets is home to more than 5,500 local minors and more than 3,000 children from the frontline areas and the war zone. Almost 400 of them have various forms of disability. Children also come here regularly for treatment, but there is no outdoor playground in the city. We decided to create an accessible children's space where everyone can spend time together safely and healthily,” Natalia Mackova said.
On the opening day, thanks to partners from the NEEKA Ukraine Charitable Foundation, a bright event was held here with a flash mob of drawings to support the affected cities. All those present also united in the creation of an interactive panel - the Garden of Children's Dreams. The kids hung their dream palms on the branches of the depicted trees and made wishes for their coming true.
We are grateful to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic for funding and to the Truskavets City Council for landscaping and installation of playground surfaces.
Caritas Czech Republic in Ukraine
Caritas Czech Republic has been helping people in Ukraine since the beginning of the war. In addition to providing much needed humanitarian aid, we also provide shelter to internally displaced people in modular houses in western Ukraine. We are also improving living conditions in dormitories.
In western Ukraine, we support Ukrainians who have decided to stand on their own feet after evacuating from the war zone. Through minigrants, we support the restoration of livelihoods for people in Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and the Transcarpathian region. The aim is to help people affected by the war to rebuild their income sources, develop a career or start their own business.
In eastern Ukraine, we improve the accessibility and quality of rehabilitation and reproductive medicine by modernising hospitals and educating staff. In the South, we restorе water supply, insulate homes, and provide firewood for heating in frontline villages.
We are grateful to everyone who helps us support Ukrainian families and communities. Everyone can help.
