Children's stories

Margo from Mariupol lost almost all her loved ones in an instant: her father, brother, two grandmothers, uncle, and godparents. Of the 12 people who were in the private house hit by a shell, only three survived.

Margarita has undergone rehabilitation, knows what calms her, and communicates with psychologists like an adult. She dreams of becoming a detective. She remembers the “Veselka” park in Mariupol, where she always had fun. She recalls how her grandmother taught her to read. And even though neither her hometown nor her loved ones can embrace Margo anymore, she wishes other Ukrainian children to be happy and keep living.

Yura witnessed his father being killed by a Russian soldier.

The soldier also shot Yura, who was standing nearby, several times —wounding his arm. When aiming for Yura’s head, the soldier missed. This happened in Bucha in March 2022, during Russia’s occupation of the Kyiv region. Yura’s father was a lawyer, and his mother works at a kindergarten. On the day of the tragedy, Yura and his father went on bicycles to the city council to get humanitarian aid. On their way, a Russian soldier approached them, ordered them to stop and raise their hands, and asked where they were going. Yura’s father said they were going to get food. The soldier then opened fire.

«While lying on the ground, I asked if I could go to my father. He fired two more shots. I turned my head and saw my father’s blood flowing toward me on the asphalt». Yura’s father’s body could not be retrieved for two days, as the Russians were shooting at anything that moved. There is still a black mark from the bullet on Yura’s hoodie, which is now kept by the Security Service of Ukraine. Yura remembered the killer’s eyes and nose and was able to identify him in a large database. He is determined to bring the soldier to justice. Gen.Camp helped Yura cope with his emotions and become closer to his family. Yura showed us how kind and empathetic teenagers can be.

Bohdan’s parents were killed by an enemy shell right on the streets of the city. At the time, his mother was seven months pregnant. Bohdan was staying with a neighbor, but that night, after everyone fell asleep, he took his bicycle and went to the site of the tragedy to see his parents. His little heart refused to believe that his mom and dad were gone.

Law enforcement officers saved Bohdan. They came to him, gathered his belongings, evacuated him from the war zone, fed him, and comforted him. The boy was terrified and devastated by the news of his parents’ death.

Bohdan joined the second session of the Gen.Camp program. He underwent rehabilitation and received psychological help from leading Ukrainian specialists.

In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the boy and his parents left Brovary for the Chernihiv region. On the way, they came across a column of Russian military tanks. And one of the armored personnel carriers crushed the car with his entire family.

Russian military heard that Andriy remained alive and pulled him out of the car, left him on the side of the road and shot him in the gas tank in front of his eyes. The boy is sure that his mother was still alive in the car, because he did not see any wounds on her face and body

Yehor and Sasha, a brother and sister from the Kherson region, spent 11 months under occupation without electricity and water. They and their fellow villagers were saved by a generator, thanks to which they managed to stay in touch. On February 19, 2023, the missile attack began. Mother ran into the children's room to take them to the cellar, but she didn't have time. There was a powerful explosion and in a second everything turned white. The bomb demolished two rooms in the house, leaving Yehor and Sasha under the rubble with their parents. The brother and sister managed to escape only thanks to evacuation. The children were hospitalized with burns and injuries.

After the hospital, Yegor and Sasha were taken to Ternopil by their older sister. They learned about the death of their parents by accidentally seeing a message in the older sister's messenger.

Then the worst thing happened — the loss of their mother. “Dad went to check if there were mines outside. When he approached his mother, she was cold.” The children, together with their father, buried their mother on the street. They made a coffin out of a closet. “Everyone helped. They gathered flowers. The Russians allowed them to temporarily bury her on the site.”