Twenty-six teenagers from internally displaced and military families who attend the SviTY Space in Zhytomyr have returned from the second session of a recovery camp in the Carpathians.
Over the course of eight days, the participants combined active recreation with daily psychosocial support. The programme included individual and group psychological practices, reflection sessions, team activities, creative workshops, mountain hikes, rafting, sports and time for informal interaction. This format helps teenagers not only regain their strength, but also better understand their emotions, build relationships with others and feel supported.
After completing the programme, the participants took part in a follow-up survey to assess changes in their emotional well-being.
The results showed positive progress:
- 79.2% of the teenagers reported an improvement in their emotional well-being;
- the share of participants who felt completely safe increased from 21.7% to 41.7%;
- the number of teenagers who often experienced stress decreased more than threefold, from 26.9% to 7.7%;
- participants also reported positive changes in communication, interaction with peers and self-confidence.
For teenagers who have been living through war for several years, recovery is about more than simply having an opportunity to rest. It is about being among peers, feeling supported by adults, processing their emotions in a safe environment and gradually rebuilding their inner resources.
That is why the SviTY programme combines the daily work of psychologists with experiences that naturally foster trust, mutual support and a sense of safety. The follow-up survey results show that this approach is genuinely helping teenagers.
Ukrainian Railways served as the logistics partner for the trip, while the camp was hosted at the Bilyi Slon base. Insurance for the participants was provided by Olha Kostyshyn.
The SviTY psychosocial recovery programme is implemented at the initiative of the KIDS OF UKRAINE Charitable Foundation. In Zhytomyr, the programme, including the recovery camp for teenagers in the Carpathians, is implemented with the support of the BGV Charity Fund.
