Childhood interrupted…
The feet of our International Director in front of a child’s chalk drawings in western Ukraine.
On a quiet entryway outside a country home in the west of Ukraine, a child’s chalk drawings are seen: soft blues and yellows, hearts modeling a Ukrainian flag represent a small attempt to bring color to a world that has become frighteningly gray. They were drawn by a ten-year-old girl whose father was injured while serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and whose uncle was killed in action. She lives far from the frontlines, yet the war has followed her home. She now carries the heavy burden of trauma and PTSD—an invisible wound that many children of war know all too well.
When we speak of the cost of war, we often talk about casualties, damaged buildings, and displaced families. But the deepest costs are harder to measure. They live in children’s nightmares, in sudden silences and in a desire to sleep all the time. Even when bombs are miles away, children absorb the fear of adults, the absence of loved ones, and the constant uncertainty of what tomorrow may bring. School becomes harder. Sleep becomes fragile. Childhood itself is interrupted.
This little girl’s chalk hearts are not just drawings; they are prayers without words. They speak of longing for safety, for her father’s healing, for an uncle who will never come home. They speak of a child trying to make sense of loss before she has the tools to do so. It’s hard for many of us to understand, but it is all too real.
War steals from children what they can never fully get back: a sense of security, trust in the world, and the freedom to grow without fear. These losses ripple outward for decades, shaping lives long after the fighting ends. As the Russian invaders continue their assault on Ukraine, more and more kids will experience this.
Today, let us pause and pray—for this brave young girl, for her healing, and for the countless children like her in Ukraine and around the world. Pray for peace that protects the most vulnerable. Pray for comfort where there is trauma, hope where there is grief, and a future where chalk drawings can simply be play, not a quiet cry for help. Lastly, pray for us at Caminul Felix as we launch a new village in Ukraine to be a part of the salve being brought to this war-torn nation. Thank you!!
