“Conversations about Restoration” with Anzhela Lytvynenko, head of the KRC “Successful Woman”. About the importance of socialization for Kherson children

COVID, occupation, shelling—in Kherson and the region, a whole generation of children do not know what the first bell is or what a desk and a blackboard are. 

Communication and socialization are essential for such children. In Kherson, thanks to public organizations, safe children's spaces for children and parents are created and functioning. 

However, more comprehensive work with them is needed. 

We discussed this, and not only in the new “Conversations about Restoration” issue, with Anzhela Lytvynenko, head of the Kherson Regional Center “Successful Woman.” 

Since the organization was founded (almost 25 years ago), the “Successful Woman” Center has been working in protecting women's rights and promoting gender equality. One of the areas of the Center's work before the full-scale invasion was combating human trafficking; today, this has grown into active work with civilian prisoners. The Center pays a lot of attention to working with children and creating safe spaces for active development and socialization in the deoccupied communities of the Kherson region. One of the main areas of activity also remains the prevention and combating of domestic violence - this is the center for survivors, which operates in Kherson, and mobile teams that can provide assistance in the region. 

“Why is this needed? Often, people who were under occupation, left or returned to their homes, find it difficult to cope with their own aggression and learn non-violent behavior, how to treat their relatives and friends, and how to treat children because children are also experiencing and, of course, they also need support and help,” says Anzhela Lytvynenko. 

Seven safe spaces for children and parents have been created in the Kherson community and three adjacent communities. These spaces provide psychological and social support, and speech therapists work with children to identify needs and help families cope with difficult life circumstances. They also increase economic capacity and thus help people recover and strengthen their resilience in the current conditions. 

With the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the level of domestic violence in communities has increased. And, to some extent, according to Anzhela Lytvynenko, this is because people have been under constant stress for a long time; their psyche is simply unable to cope with it. It is challenging for the older generation. 

We asked Anzhela Lytvynenko how active the local authorities are now in meeting the population's social needs and cooperating with public organizations: “Most of the leaders who worked in the social sphere are on the ground. Thus, the cooperation established before the war was being carried out, and one might even say it had not been interrupted. Even when part of our team, including me, was forced to leave due to the city's occupation, we maintained contact with our representatives and the leadership in the social services field. We provided support to those who needed it. We evacuated some of the government representatives from different communities, with whom we worked closely and with whom we maintained contact. But, of course, some moments require additional attention and greater inclusion. There is a lot of "coordination" at the central level, and very few people at the local level, in communities, who are forced to do everything.” 

Today, the public sector is a powerful resource in the Kherson region that the authorities can use. But, according to Anzhela Lytvynenko, because there is a significant burden on public organizations that work nonstop in the Kherson region, communication and coordination are sometimes lost "because everyone sees their own territory, their own people, their own goals and objectives, and "plows up" what they can cover with their own resources."

Recently, the “Successful Woman” Center conducted a gender profile of the Kherson region, and according to Anzhela Lytvynenko, in 2024, the number of residents in Kherson was 3 times higher than in 2022, despite the shelling and destruction. The migration process is ongoing. The Kherson region has a beautiful resource and tremendous potential, but only if security issues are resolved will there be recovery. “There should be a strategy for working with those who left so that these people want to return and restore their land with the experience and knowledge they are currently gaining abroad. There should be certain support programs for those who will return. We have something to give back. Kherson residents remain Kherson residents, wherever they are.” 

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