“I can’t,” 11-year-old Nazar whispers, looking away.
The first art therapy sessions are difficult for him—just like life after the occupation.
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Relocation, the loss of home, fear, excess weight, and emotional withdrawal—these were the burdens Nazar carried after fleeing Donetsk with his mother Oksana and brother Ihor. Starting a new life seemed impossible.
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Oksana felt lost. Ihor stopped playing his guitar. Nazar avoided other children and didn’t even trust the psychologist.
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But slowly, art began to shift something inside each of them.
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When psychologist Olena Borysova first invited the family to join art therapy, no one expected a breakthrough. But something had to be done. Nazar was the first to join, though he wasn’t excited. He didn’t want to talk. He didn’t want to go. Sometimes, he had to be convinced by his mother just to show up.
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But step by step, everything began to change.
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Later, Ihor and Oksana joined the sessions. And with every brushstroke, every drawing, every collage, a little more hope began to surface in each of them.
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Nazar became more active and cheerful. He started to trust people again. Ihor picked up his guitar. And their mother finally found the courage to pursue her long-time dream—training to become a massage therapist.
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“Art helped us feel alive again,” says Oksana.
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At Save Ukraine, we believe that no trauma is a life sentence.
Art therapy creates a space where people of all ages can rediscover calm, stability—and themselves.
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This project is made possible by a grant from the Children’s Resilience Fund: Providing Capacity Building and Funding to Ukrainian Civil Society Organisations, implemented in Ukraine by Crown Agents in Ukraine and Integrity Action.