Sport for Recovery – a new direction of the joint project of the Ministry of Education and Science and UNICEF – BESIDE, which aims to provide psychosocial support to children, youth, and families affected by war. BESIDE includes group psychological support, art therapy, master classes, healthy nutrition development, and sports activities.

The sports component of the project is being implemented by the charitable fund "Development of Football in Ukraine" in partnership with the Ukrainian Association of Football and with the support of UEFA's Children's Fund.

Photo by UAF press service

At the end of May, sports activities for children started in Sambir and the Sambir district, located in Lviv region.

On May 24, two inaugural sessions took place on the sports field at the L. Brovarskyi stadium in Sambir, involving children from Toretsk, Sloviansk, Kharkiv, Mariupol, Berdiansk, as well as local Sambirenses. Notably, teachers and the director of the Toretsk school Oleksiy Holiativ participated alongside the children who were forced to leave their homes.

Photo by UAF press service

The children went through a warm-up, relay races, competitions with the coach, discussions and developmental games with a pedagogical psychologist, as well as talks about proper nutrition and healthy living with a medical staff member. Overall, this format of work contributes to psychological recovery after traumatic experiences and overcoming fears.

Children from Toretsk were given football uniforms, shoes, and balls for further football training.

The next to join the project were remote mountain communities in Sambirshchyna: Borinya village, Turka town, Strilki village, Dobromyl town, Khiriv town.

Photo by UAF press service

Throughout the entire period, a qualified team worked with children who had previously undergone specialized training in April. This includes Ruslan Khomin, head of the Sambir District Football Association and head of the Sambirska RO VFS "Kolos", Ivan Kovalek, director of KDYUSSH in Sambir, football coach, Tetiana Kovalek, head of education department at Ralivskaya territorial community, and Roman Horodyskyi, doctor at KDYUSSH in Sambir.

Overall, from May 24 to 29, psychosocial support was provided to 424 children, of whom 163 were displaced due to the war in Lviv region. Among local participants – children from large families, underprivileged ones, and those whose parents are mostly veterans of ATO, OOS, who continue to defend our country on eastern borders.

Photo by UAF press service

Soon the project will visit Stary Sambir and later other communities.

We remind you that sports activities for children within the BESIDE project will be implemented in ten regions of Ukraine: Khmelnytskyi, Rivne, Volyn, Lviv, Ternopil, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernihiv, Zakarpattia, Zhytomyr and Kyiv.