The city of Popasna, for example, was heavily destroyed during the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Even after nearly six years of fighting, the “contact-line”, which describes the line between governmental and non-governmental actors, is continuously changing and just several kilometers away from Popasna. Not surprisingly, many children in Popasna suffer from traumatic experiences like the loss of family members, the destruction of vital infrastructure, daily shelling or injuries by explosive remnants of war.
In March 2020, the Mine Mark team went to Popasna to offer humanitarian assistance to traumatized children. During the visit, the Mine Mark Team distributed 400 Mine Risk Education packages and educated children in two schools.
During several lessons with pupils at schools number 1 and 21, detailed information on mine safety was provided, and various educational games were played with the children. Mine Mark’s heroes and games made a great impression on the pupils. The positive reaction of the children and the directors on Mine Mark’s playful education measures demonstrated that there is an urgent need for updated Mine Risk Education that is also tailored to the specific needs of each target group.
In April 2021, Mine Mark Team, with the assistance of our partner NGO, Voices of Children, distributed Explosive Ordnance Risk Awareness posters in Ukraine. In particular, the posters were distributed to educational facilities in Myronovsky, Novoluhanka, Svitlodarsk, Hirske, and Zolote cities. The posters were explained to the students and exposed in schools’ hallways and classrooms. Furthermore, the posters were distributed and displayed in two “safe houses”, shelters established by Voices of Children in Svitlodarks and Zaycevo.
MINE MARK is planning to educate more children in different regions in Ukraine that are contaminated with landmines and other explosive remnants of war.
