Children's stories

Margo. Mariupol, Donetsk region

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.

Bucha, Kyiv region, March 2022. On the day of the tragedy, 16 YO Yura and his father rode their bicycles to the city council to get some humanitarian aid. On their way, a Russian soldier approached them, ordered them to stop, raised their hands, and asked where they were going. Yura's father said they were going for food. Suddenly soldier started shooting at them. The first shot killed father and the second one hit Yura, but the boy survived.

After some time, the boy found and identified his father's killer on the Internet. He wants to put the soldier in jail. Gen.Camp helped Yura to deal with his emotions and become even closer to his family.

"Lying on the ground, I asked if I could come to my father. And he fired two more shots. I turned my head and saw my father's blood flowing towards me", Yura said. The boy's hoodie still has a black bullet mark on it. It's kept by the Security Service of Ukraine as evidence now.

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. He left him on the side of the road and shot the car`s gas tank in front of the boy`s eyes.

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 an evacuation organized by the Ukrainian soldiers. The children were hospitalized with burns and injuries.

The photo of little Vladyk at his mother's grave was spread all over the international media. When the whole world was shocked by the atrocities of the russians in Bucha, this little boy came to mind.

They spent the first days of the war under occupation, in frosty basements and hunger. Then the worst thing happened — the loss of their mother. "Dad went to check if there were any mines outside. When he came to my mom, she was cold."

Before the full-scale war, his family fulfilled their dream of moving into their own home. His mother worked as a hairdresser, while his father served at a military base in Hostomel.

At Gen.Camp, we had many conversations with Lev and were constantly amazed by his wisdom. He believes that a person truly dies only when they are forgotten. To release his emotions, Lev paints in his own unique style. Through colors, he expresses what words cannot.

On February 24, his father left for Hostomel to join his comrades. In March, he was killed while carrying out a combat mission. The last time Lev saw him was before the Russian invasion began.

She lived abroad with her parents until February 24, 2022. But when the full-scale invasion began, her father, Oleh “Kelta” Katrych, didn’t hesitate—he returned to Ukraine. He was the first to volunteer for a mission to reinforce Azovstal. Despite the mortal danger, the hero landed in the heart of the battle, standing side by side with his comrades to defend the fortress. That battle became his last. For his bravery and selflessness, Tamara calls her father “Guardian Angel.” Tamara also has an incredible talent for painting. For her, art is the best therapy.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Sasha and her brother enjoyed an ordinary childhood and went to school together. But in 2022 they had to leave the familiar behind and left the city. Unfortunately, during the evacuation, Sasha and her family came under fire at the Kramatorsk train station. The girl still remembers that day in vivid detail, because having witnessed death with her own eyes.

A few months later, Sasha’s father was killed on the front lines. She respects that he volunteered to defend Ukraine, yet she cannot believe he is gone.

"Life was brighter before the war. Before the war, there was childhood," Ihor says. On February 24, 2022, he with his mother and his six-year-old sister Marusia, fled to Poland. They stayed there for four months, but they missed home too much, so they returned. On January 14, 2023, the air raid alarm lasted for a long time. When it ended, Ihor went outside with his friend. While playing, his friend fell through the ice, and Ihor pulled him out—both were soaked. Afraid of being scolded, they decided to stay at his friend’s house for a while. Then, the alarm started again. Ihor’s mother called him home, but he hesitated—he didn’t want to return in wet jeans. Twenty minutes later, a missile struck their residential building. His mother was killed.

"I felt so guilty for not going home that day. At least I could have seen my mom one last time. But I didn’t." For Ihor, music is his way of expressing himself. While everyone tells him he should study to become an IT specialist, he believes his mother would have been happy to see him on stage. "This is not the end. Even when it feels like you’ve lost everything, there is always something worth living for."

In the first days of the war, Yehor with his father and sister went out to buy groceries when suddenly they came under fire. A missile struck a nearby factory, and right before the boy’s eyes, shrapnel took his father’s life. Yehor tried to stop the bleeding, but he couldn’t save him. After witnessing this, he withdrew into himself, shutting out the world.

Later, he joined Gen.Camp, where he learned to express his emotions again.

On October 5, 2023, a Russian ‘Iskander’ missile hit a café in the village of Hroza, Kharkiv region, killing 59 people. Among them were Dmytro and Nastia’s father, mother, grandmother, and grandfather.

After losing nearly their entire family, Dmytro and his older sister got matching tattoos in honor of their parents: "Family above all" and "God protect us." These words serve as a reminder that helps them keep going.

“We hid in the garage with my mom and watched missiles flying from Bucha to Irpin, from Irpin to Bucha.”

One day, Savelii’s brother called him and his mother. He said, “I’m injured, uncle is injured, but as for our dad…”. That was the moment the boy realized his father was dead.

Savelii’s father’s body could not be retrieved for 10 days because heavy fighting was ongoing.

“When I was trapped under the rubble, it hurt to swallow and breathe, but I could move my leg and that’s how I found Sasha.”

“When we were under the rubble, I found a piece of glass and thought I could make a way out and escape.”

“When they dug me out, I felt cold, it hurt to move, and they took us to the hospital.”

On October 5, 2023, russians launched an Iskander missile at a local café, killing 59 people. That day, tragedy came to every home in her village, taking away loved ones and friends.

Ksusha was attending an online physics class and trying to bake a cake for the first time. Hearing a loud explosion, she ran outside. On that day, the Russians killed her father, mother, and grandmother.

Ksusha’s brother found their father’s body, but she was not allowed to see it. Her mother and grandmother were identified only through DNA testing.

After the tragedy, Ksusha participated in the Gen.Camp psychological intensive.

"I wake up in the morning like any ordinary person, as if nothing had happened. I wash my face, get dressed, have breakfast, and sit down for my lessons," Anya recalls. But then, in an instant, her world was shattered — a Russian missile hit her family’s home.

Her parents died at home — they were in the next room. She screamed and cried for help, calling out to them, but they could no longer hear her. Neighbors from the floor above found her and helped her reach shelter.

“What I loved most was playing games with my dad,” says the 9-year-old boy. Sadly, those moments together now live only in his memories. Because his father was fatally wounded in a firefight.

Valentyn describes his father as “a good guy”—someone who taught him courage and how to protect himself when needed. For the boy, life itself is the most precious thing. That’s why he dreams that people who love life could be immortal.

Marusia had a very close relationship with her mother. She always felt her mother’s deep love and cherished every moment they spent together. However, on January 14, 2023, a Russian missile struck the residential building where her mother was. Marusia held onto hope until the very end that her mother would be rescued.

Her heart was shattered when she learned of her mother’s passing.
Now, she continues to live in Dnipro with her father, older brother, and their cat. She says she has a good life—she goes fishing with her father and celebrates her brother’s creative achievements. Yet, she still deeply misses her mother.

Kseniia has many happy memories of her father and the time they spent together. She says he taught her some of the most important things in life: to love, to respect, and to appreciate people. She considers herself "daddy’s girl" because of the warm and close bond they shared. But now, she has to learn how to live with this painful loss and plan her future without him.

Kseniia’s father was a border guard. He bled to death from a fragment of an enemy missile, right at his post. After this tragedy, she worries even more about her mother, who serves in the military.

Now, Kseniia has her mother and brother by her side. Her family is what helps her keep going.

This tragedy is remembered by all Ukrainians. Hroza is a small village where almost everyone knows each other. That is why nearly the entire community gathered for the funeral of a fallen soldier—a relative of Alina. She was supposed to attend as well but, afraid of funerals and decided to stay home.

That decision saved her life. Suddenly, the quiet village was shaken by a deafening explosion. Alina immediately ran outside. She had a terrible feeling about what had happened but refused to believe it.

She was too afraid to go to the site of the missile strike, fearing she would see that her loved ones were dead. Soon, her father called to tell her that her mother and sister had been killed. Her grandmother was still alive but had suffered fatal shrapnel wounds. Now, Alina lives with her father, who returned from the front shortly after the tragedy. She plans to honor her sister’s dream by dedicating more time to singing.

The boy was unwell, so his morning began with gargling. Afterwards, he went to his father to watch TV. At that very moment, an explosion occurred, claiming the life of Mikita’s mother. This tragedy unfolded on December 31, 2023, the day before the holiday, when an enemy shell struck the building where Mikita’s family lived.

Mikita’s greatest fear is that his father might give up. He is still learning to live without the most precious person in the world. At Gen.Camp, we have been helping him overcome his pain and grief, and learn to rediscover the joy of life.

"Yahidne is a small village with just five streets, where everyone knows each other," says Anya. "For example, there were only three kids in my class," Dima adds.

Anya vividly remembers the day their village was occupied—March 3, around 4:00 PM. By the next morning, russian troops had set up their headquarters in the local school and forced all the villagers into the basement.

For 28 days, 380 people were trapped in a cramped cellar with no place to move freely. Their only toilet—a single bucket for everyone. On the walls, they wrote the names of those who died from suffocation or were shot. Dima’s mother went upstairs to beg the russians for a piece of bread—she couldn’t bear watching the children starve.

Now, Anya and Dima are learning to face their fears and dream again. Dima wants to become a photographer, while Anya has already decided she will dedicate her career to the military.

"You should never give up. You have to be brave."

laugh with, talk to, drink tea, go for a walk" Yura lost his mother, father, younger brother and sister in an instant. They were on their way to pick up the boy from his grandmother, but their car was blown up by a mine that the Russians had deliberately left on the road - they had no chance of surviving. Now he fondly remembers the delicious dumplings his mother made, how his sister and brother took their first steps, how they celebrated his birthday together.

After the loss, Yura realized that the greatest value in life is family. He still misses his loved ones and often dreams of himself drinking tea with his whole family.

Katya’s father worked at the city’s main factory, but when the full-scale invasion began, he joined the Territorial Defense Brigade. From her own home, Katya watched as bombs rained down on Azovstal. She saw countless deaths and knew that anyone could be next. She and her mother managed to escape Mariupol only in late spring of 2022.

The happiest day of Katya’s life was New Year’s Eve 2023. Her mother gave her a ring, engraved with the words of her father, who had already passed away — "the spring-girl". He had always been her biggest supporter in gymnastics, and that’s what he used to call her.