Delivering an antidote to stress for kids in hard-to-reach territories in Ukraine

75% of children who are currently staying in Ukraine already demonstrate signs of psychological trauma: increased anxiety, emotional swings, mood changes, and poor sleep. These are the results of a study by Gradus Research.

In order to support children and help them to find strength and resources during dark times, the Dobrodiy Club has created a box with materials for art therapy anywhere, which is called “Creativity is your antidote to stress”.

“Our experience shows that creativity helps children to express their feelings, and this is how they can work with their conditions. Our mission is to be where children need us and to support childhood even in hard-to-reach places. Therefore, with the qualified support of art therapists, we have created a “takeaway art therapy box,” which we deliver to children from the de-occupied regions,” says Mariia Artemenko, the founder and head of the Dobrodiy Club.

4200 kids living in hard-to-reach places (recently liberated settlements in the East and South of Ukraine) have already received such kits. 

What’s in the box? 

More than 35 different items for creativity. 

• Everything for drawing – albums, notebooks, pencils, felt-tip pens, different types of paints and brushes;

• Accessories for modelling – papier-mâché paste, a set of stacks, plasticine;

• Everything for designing and paper crafting – origami paper, a bunch of different stationery;

• A handicraft set – wool, fluffy wire, soft pompons, and (attention!) even decorative eyes for crafts.

• And, of course, glitter and even a headlamp will help children create anywhere: in a shelter and without light.

Each box also contains the author’s guide of the Dobrodiy Club – specially designed instructions and tips for adults (from psychologists and art therapists), which will guide the child into the world of creativity and help them find their own point of support.

Art therapist Olena Lutsenko has shared the secrets of what exactly the box was filled with.

“The main thing we focused on was the safety of the exercises that will be presented in the collection because children will work on their own, without an art therapist. Accordingly, the exercises should not bring about negative feelings, provoke negative memories, or cause retraumatization,” the specialist said.

In order to make the boxes suitable for a wide audience of children, the specialists focused on three age groups: primary, middle and high school age.

Art therapists were also engaged in preparing the “Collection of Exercises and Tips.” It’s a toolkit containing descriptions of materials, creative exercises depending on the materials used (instructions and visual examples), tips for adults, and colouring mandalas for children. The collection allows older children to work independently with the contents of the art box.