Bring The Living Book to children in Ukraine

Aim

Printing therapeutic books for children in Ukraine affected by war. £3 = one book. Help us reach at least 1000 more children who need it.

Children in Ukraine are living through one of the most difficult periods imaginable. Millions have experienced displacement, shelling, sudden evacuation, and the loss of their homes and routines. With the war now in its fifth year, there are too many young children who have lost a parent or have a parent struggling with civilian/family life after service on the frontline. The psychological impact on young people is profound, and the need for accessible, child-friendly mental health support has never been greater.

About the Ukraine Community Resilience Fund

The Ukraine Community Resilience Fund is a small grants programme run by The BEARR Trust, a UK charity supporting vulnerable communities across Eastern Europe and Central Asia since 1992. The Community Resilience Fund supports grassroots organisations in Ukraine that are doing vital work in their own communities: people who know their neighbours, understand local needs, and are trusted by the families they serve.

The Living Book: already making a difference

One of our partners in the Kharkiv region set out to create a resource that children could use at their own pace, in their own time. The Living Book is an interactive printed book designed to help children aged 3–16 process their wartime experiences. Created in three versions for different age groups, each copy comes with QR codes linking to audio stories, calming music, and mindfulness exercises, giving children tools to manage anxiety, express their feelings, and regain a sense of safety.

With BEARR’s funding, 300 copies were printed and distributed to children in the village of Babai, Kharkiv region as part of the pilot project, many of them from internally displaced or low-income families with little access to psychosocial support. The response has been encouraging. Across those 300 copies, 834 scans of the audio and mindfulness content were recorded, suggesting that children were actively returning to the materials long after first receiving the book.

Feedback gathered from teachers, parents and school representatives over the following weeks painted a consistent picture:

• Around 68% of children became more engaged in group discussions
• 61% of teachers observed improvements in children's ability to talk about their emotions
• More than half of parents reported a reduction in their child's anxiety
• In three school groups, the book was woven into regular emotional support classes
• Teachers began using the audio materials as stabilisation exercises before lessons

Perhaps most meaningfully, children who had never before spoken openly about evacuation, the loss of their home, or their fears began doing so, finding a way in through the gentle, structured space the book created.

Building on these results, a further 200 copies have since been distributed in the Liubotynska community, bringing the total number of children reached to 500.

A companion guide for teachers has also been developed in an online format, so the approach can be shared more widely across schools and support settings.

Why we need your help

The book has shown what it can do, but so far it has only reached two communities in Ukraine. Through this campaign, we want to change that.

Printing and distributing a copy of The Living Book costs just £3 per child, meaning a donation of £300 funds 100 books for an entire community. We are hoping to raise £3,000 or more, which would allow BEARR Trust partners who are already embedded in their communities to put these books into the hands of 1000 more children. Every pound donated will count towards the next batch.

Every copy that reaches a child is one more opportunity for them to feel heard, to process what they have been through, and to find a little steadiness amid everything that is still uncertain.

Please donate today and help us bring The Living Book to more children who need it.

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Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made by 27th August 2026 at 9:57am