Yet amid the war, they continue to find resilience, connection, and hope.

Through its network of family-strengthening and emergency programmes, SOS Children’s Villages Ukraine provides psychosocial support and safe spaces where children and young people can express themselves, process trauma, and rebuild confidence. One of these spaces is Camp Lighthouse — a 14-day programme that offers psychological support, rest, and recovery for children and youth affected by the war.

The four young adults featured below — Valeriia, 19, Iryna, 19, Mariia, 18, and Daria, 19 — each took part in the camp. They share how the war has shaped their lives, what helped them cope, and what gives them strength and hope for the future.

Valeriia, 19

“The war has changed my outlook and my understanding of how everything around me works. Unfortunately, the world revealed itself to me not from its best side.

Speaking about feelings — in the first weeks, my emotions were blocked. I didn’t feel fear or pain. It was especially strange that I didn’t realize right away that my hometown was under occupation, and that I would end up spending four months there. Looking back now, it was an incredible shock and trauma.

If I speak about the present, my health has also been affected — my eyesight worsened, my memory has declined, and there are fragments of events I can’t recall. I experience heightened anxiety and bad dreams related to the war.

Everyday life has also changed. There was a long period connected to volunteering and military training. Now I have a fiancé who serves in the army, and I try to be a source of support for him in this war. As for me, I work at Camp Lighthouse, where I also do what I believe is an important job here, in the rear.

Throughout the war, my condition has been very unstable. Mostly, I’ve struggled with sleep and periods of intense anxiety that are sometimes hard to control. The main challenge was dealing with depressive episodes that made it difficult even to get up and cook food — let alone take care of other basic needs. Against the background of war and constant tension, exhaustion builds up, and it becomes hard to notice anything good.

I also often feel emotionally unsteady — either unable to express emotions, or the opposite, feeling overwhelmed by them. Because of this, communication with loved ones sometimes fades away — I simply don’t have enough emotional energy even for myself.

What helps me cope, little by little, is sports. I really love volleyball and just going to the gym. Physical activity helps me switch off my thoughts — there’s silence in my head, or just my favourite music in my headphones. I couldn’t do without my close friends and my partner — they are my main support. My colleagues and my work also help keep me grounded in the ‘here and now,’ rather than lost in thoughts about the future. And of course, time in nature without mobile connection — that’s my detox from all the information noise and time just for myself.

When I came to Camp Lighthouse as a teenager, I had many unresolved issues within myself. The camp helped me work through them, and the programme guided me naturally through all my emotions so that I could finally make sense of everything. Communication with peers and younger children was also an important part of my recovery — distance learning had really distanced me from real, in-person interaction, and I missed that terribly.

But what I want to highlight most is the camp team. They had the biggest impact on me. The fact that these people, sometimes giving up their own free time and sleep, helped me sort out the chaos in my head — that means a lot. They became those very ‘safe adults’ I could turn to for any reason, and that communication strengthened me and my outlook on life the most.

A hike with the instructor Vitalii, shared evenings with my mentor Karina, the camp director Olha, and the psychologist Ania also meant a lot to me. I’m especially grateful to my former mentor Vladyslav, who was just as much a source of support and encouragement as all the people I mentioned above.

I wish people would at least recognize that (these issues) exist :) In my opinion, we talk too little about young people’s psychological needs nowadays — and that’s a problem. Unfortunately, many adults tend to dismiss them, saying things like ‘your problems aren’t real problems, but this is…’ etc. I wish schools would pay more attention to the emotional well-being of children during wartime. Looking at the current academic workload, it sometimes feels as if people have forgotten that many children spend nights in basements or have to study in unbearable conditions.

Very often, they have no safe place to turn for help without their parents’ involvement. School psychologists often exist just ‘on paper,’ running meaningless tests that don’t help anyone. I wish psychology sessions were not only available in recovery camps but also a permanent part of education. Because these are our realities — and without that support, we’ll be raising a generation of deeply traumatised children, even though we could still influence the situation for the better.

I think it’s important for children to find connection with others. It’s vital to come together in communities where they can feel safe. It’s important for them to understand themselves and what they feel amid the chaos of the world. They need help understanding what’s happening to them and what they’re going through — so that they don’t face their emotions alone, but instead feel strength and the ability to resist, at least within themselves.

People. Nature. Silence. That’s my luxury — what keeps me together in this turbulent world."

Iryna, 19

“The war has changed me a lot. It made me grow up early — more independent and resilient. And that probably helps me now to deal with both small and serious situations on my own.

Loneliness and the loss of meaning in life were the hardest. What pulled me out of that were people, communication, dancing, and music. For me, that was like a breath of fresh air — a reminder that life goes on.

I began to feel again what it means to truly enjoy life. I learned to savour moments, to let myself express and release both positive and difficult emotions. It was about learning to pay attention to myself and my feelings. For the first time, I realized how good it can feel simply to be with myself and my emotions.

My (camp) mentor showed me that creating activities or projects can be easy and enjoyable. They taught me to take failures lightly and to appreciate small things. The psychologists also helped me focus on the achievements I already had — things I hadn’t noticed before or had dismissed as unimportant.

But most of all, the camp helped me open up in what has become my passion — dance. Back then, I was very unsure of myself, but now I can’t imagine life without dancing and movement. Thanks to the Camp Lighthouse, I am actively moving forward in this direction today.

I often noticed how people tend to devalue the expression of emotions — any emotions. Many seem afraid to express them or don’t know how to respond to them. There’s a real need to develop emotional maturity — to help young people understand that whatever they are feeling right now is okay. That gives them a sense of stability, which is so fragile during war.

It’s important to give them space to open up without fear of being judged for their emotions. This helps them learn to pay attention to themselves and their feelings, to notice when they need support, and to find their own inner balance.

It's important to support young people in what they love and what inspires them. Guide them towards learning to make their own choices. And most importantly — remind children that they are children. Help them notice joy and happiness even in the smallest moments, because that’s where we can feel life the most.

What gives me hope is the Ukrainian people — their strength and power give me strong faith in both the present and the future. What gives me energy are dance and the people around me. Dancing helps me live through moments, because sometimes it’s easier to speak with your body than with words. People give me support and an exchange of energy that fills me up.

Sometimes you just need to cry it out, scream into a pillow, push against a wall, write everything down on paper, or dance out everything that’s built up. And sometimes, it’s enough just to focus on your breathing.”

Mariia, 18

“At this point, I can see that since the start of the war, there have been two waves for me. The first forced me into survival mode and broke down my sense of self. The second was finally the understanding that I can live and breathe — not just survive.

At the beginning of the war, we moved to another city, and it felt suffocating. I had the feeling that I didn’t feel anything anymore — as if I were just a body living without emotions. The only thing that helped me then was talking with a friend, but that only helped for a short while.

It was SOS Children’s Villages that helped me wake up from the state I was in. Through all the emotions, activities, and communication — both with peers and with older people who became role models for me — I remembered what it feels like to truly live.

That’s not an easy question, because every activity and every professional contributed to the positive place I’m in now. But probably the most meaningful for me was the programme about emotions and the responsibility I had for younger children in my team.

That even though we’re growing up, there’s still a piece of childhood inside each of us — we also want to live and feel. It’s normal to laugh out loud in the street or to cry. The older we get, the more we seem to forget that.

The first thing that comes to mind is communication — the ability to understand and accept one’s feelings and emotions. It’s important to give children activities where they can direct their energy. And to help them know that they are heard, and that everything they feel is okay.

You know, I have a bracelet from the camp, and I never take it off. When things get really hard, I look at it and remember that there’s a place that supports the future generation of our country. As long as it exists, there’s hope that the future will be better — that it will become normal to talk about your feelings without shame.

So my source of strength is the people who helped me live and laugh despite the war.

If I still have physical energy after a stressful situation, I first direct it into sports. Then I call someone I trust — someone who will support me. Sometimes just a conversation is enough to calm down.”

Daria, 19

“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, my body has reacted very strongly to stress. When I feel danger or anxiety, I can’t eat. For a couple of years, I had to move from Mykolaiv to Zakarpattia, where it was quite lonely and difficult.

After moving to Kyiv, I had to adapt to regular massive attacks and take responsibility for my own safety. I’m lucky — there’s a metro station nearby and a few small shelters where I can stay overnight if needed. But there are weeks when I go down almost every night — sometimes running. It’s exhausting, both physically and emotionally. It drains your motivation and puts you under intense stress.

Each time, I have to find the strength to get back up, do something to help myself, recover, and keep living — continuing to pursue my dreams in my beloved city. But it’s not easy.

The psychological support camp from SOS Children’s Villages really changed my life. It helped me get through the difficult early years of the full-scale war, the isolation, and the loneliness of forced relocation. There, I learned many self-help techniques, overcame my biggest insecurity related to my back (I have third-degree scoliosis), and met incredible people who inspired me and helped me find the path toward my dreams.

The camp’s evening gatherings and my group psychologist, Olena, probably helped me the most. I remember sitting in a circle and shedding a happy tear because the atmosphere felt so warm and safe. With Olena, I worked through many painful moments during our sessions.

It’s important to understand that young people need access to psychologists, safe spaces, opportunities for social connection, meaning, and hope.

I think everyone should learn how to cope with anxiety and have self-regulation techniques that work for them personally. Teenagers and children need to feel that they are not alone — that they are understood and supported, that someone listens to them. They also need faith in the future and in people, instead of the constant sense of ‘everything is bad’ that war brings.

People. The way we hold on and help each other. And my simple love for this country — it gives me hope for its future.

I give myself time and rest. I try to listen to what I need at that moment — and do that. I talk with my loved ones and try not to pressure myself to be productive when things are hard. Dancing, yoga, and physical activity in general also help a lot.”