Warmith and light for childhood

The "Stronger Together" Children's Center, which operates under the Caritas SDE UGCC Foundation in Drohobych, is a safe space that helps vulnerable children – children of military personnel and children of deceased military personnel, internally displaced persons, and children from low-income families who have lost relatives or experienced the hardships of war.

Many of them live in apartments and houses without stable heating and are often left without electricity during power outages. We are raising funds for a hybrid inverter with an energy storage system that will ensure the center's uninterrupted operation, light, heat, and a safe environment for learning, development, and games. This assistance will allow children to feel safe, even when they have lost almost everything.

The "Stronger Together" Center is open Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and welcomes children of different age groups: schoolchildren visit the center after school, and younger children or those who are not currently enrolled in school can come in the morning. Every day, up to 30 children come to the center for group classes: preschoolers, school-age children, and teenagers. Children also have the opportunity to work individually with a psychologist and speech therapist. Visitors to the center include local children and IDPs from the Luhansk, Kherson, Donetsk regions, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea.

The center employs qualified specialists: psychologists, speech therapists, social educators, and other professionals. Children attend individual and group sessions with a psychologist, corrective and developmental classes, speech therapy sessions, art therapy, classes with elements of fairy tale therapy and play therapy, training in emotional intelligence development, classes in self-regulation and anxiety management, social adaptation classes, communication training, creative workshops, game libraries, developmental and cognitive activities, themed events, interactive events, and holiday gatherings.

In addition to working with children, the center actively cooperates with parents: consultations, support meetings, educational events, and advisory work on parenting and psychological support for children are held.

Nine-year-old Marichka came to the center after her family lost their home during shelling and moved to Drohobych. She is afraid of the dark and admits that she often cries at night when the power goes out. For Marichka and other children at the Stronger Together center, it is not just a roof over their heads, but a place of support where they can feel warmth and peace. When there is no stable power supply and heating in the building, she cannot receive the help and attention she so desperately needs. Marichka needs a stable environment where there is light, warmth, and the opportunity to develop, learn, and simply be a child.

Currently, the center is operational, but without an autonomous power supply system based on a hybrid inverter, any power outage paralyzes classes and makes heating and lighting impossible. Children are forced to stay in cold and dark rooms or interrupt their studies and games, which increases their stress and trauma. A hybrid inverter will change the situation: it will allow children to attend classes, study, play, attend clubs, and feel stable, even when the outside world becomes unstable.

This project will help the center maintain the physical and emotional comfort, safety, and stability of the children. We want the center to always be warm and bright – this is the foundation for development, trust, and joy that children have lost due to war and life circumstances.

Supporting this project is not just about purchasing a hybrid inverter and power supply system. It is an investment in the future of children who have experienced pain and loss, in their ability to feel safe, play, learn, and dream. Every donor helps preserve childhood for those who need it most today.