“I dream of going home — to my cat and my dog. To work in the garden, to hug everyone, and to fall asleep in my own bed.” Such a simple wish — yet for children we have rescued from occupation, it remains out of reach.

Back there, under Russia’s rule and constant danger, everything dearest to them was left behind: a favorite bed, toys, books, pets, and the familiar streets where every bush and stone is known. These simple, ordinary things — things most of us take for granted — are what they miss most.

That is why, in art therapy sessions, our young beneficiaries so often draw houses. Even when therapists encourage them to draw “anything they like,” again and again, they choose to draw a house. Because for them, a home is the ultimate symbol of safety and protection — the very things they have been denied.

Creativity gives children a way to express what is too difficult to put into words. Through their drawings, they reveal their pain, their longing, and their memories of home. And it is in this creative process that the journey toward healing begins — a path leading to a new future, one with a different home, a new bed, and new friends.

Every child’s drawing is a story. Sometimes the story is too heavy to tell out loud. But art therapy helps turn trauma into experience — something a child can live with, and move forward from.

📹 Watch the video and share it. Let more people hear the voices of children who dream of the one thing that matters most: going home.

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