Unbroken Kids

At Saint Nicholas Hospital in Lviv, renovations are well underway. The hospital continues to be the center of the Unbroken Kids program and we are making great progress! Most recently, the Hospital opened a brand new pool space dedicated to rehabilitation therapies. Children in the hospital's pediatric wards now have access to regular acquatic physical therapy. The newly opened pool and gym spaces of the hospital provide multiple spaces to help our young patients recover and refine their impacted neuro-motor skills.

As the renovations continue, our plan is to develop more spaces within Saint Nicholas Hospital where pediatric patients can engage in diverse activities to rehabilitate the mind and body. The goal for Unbroken Kids is to care for an estimated 954 pediatric patients, providing them rehabilitation treatments in support of their physical and mental strength. Dedicated to physical therapy and mental health, the work of Unbroken Kids continues to be one of Soleterre’s most important and impactful projects active in Ukraine today.

The children and adolescents hospitalized at the Unbroken Kids center carry harrowing stories with them, full of the horrors of war. While the immediate focus is often directed to the physical damages, the violence these children have experienced has left less visible traces as well. The violence they have witnessed has lasting effects. Our psychologists are wary of the impact the war on their young psyches, careful to address how the violence and bloodshed they have endured seeps into their imaginations and they way they play.

Together with our partners at the First Medical Union of Lviv and the Zaporuka Foundation, Soleterre will be at these childrens' sides to lend our unending support. Our objective is to help children and adolescents to recover from serious injuries caused by the ongoing war. Their injuries range from amputations to serious wounds causing neuro-motor disabilities. Some are suffering from indirect war injuries, including burns from residual fires caused by bombings at the front. Unbroken Kids will offer continuous care for these children in renovated spaces dedicated to providing them with the therapies they need.

While Unbroken Kids is centered in Kyiv, our partnership with Saint Nicholas Hospital knows no boundaries! This November, a group of five Ukranian medical professionals visited the both San Matteo Polytechnic and Maugeri Hospitals in Pavia, Italy. Specialists in pediatric trauma medicine, these doctors completed a program alongside other professionals in their field. After a successful exchange, our Ukranian partners returned to Lviv full of energy and even more prepared to make a difference at Unbroken Kids. The exchange was made possible thanks to the financial support from Regione Lombardia and Assolombarda. Later on in December, we sent members of Soleterre's team to visit the children at Unbroken Kids and check out the renovation progress at Saint Nicholas Hospital. Our team was elated to visit the newly inaugurated pool and catch up on other exciting developments with the hospital's staff.

Thank you to our partners listed above, as well as our generous donors, without whom this important work would not be possible!

Links:

• Support our partners at the Zaporuka Foundation!

On May 30, 2023, the center for Unbroken Kids opened its doors at Saint Nicholas Hospital in Ukraine. The center was built to help the 954 patients in the Hospital’s pediatric ward recover from war-inflicted wounds as they undergo medical treatment with special focus on physical and psychological rehabilitation.

The space contains rooms dedicated to rehabilitating the mind and the body, including a swimming pool for physiotherapy and a gym to help with repairing neuro-motor skills. The staff at Unbroken Kids are specialized psychologists, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech therapists. With the help of their expertise, and cutting edge equipment, the center is fully prepared to offer its young patients with the best possible care after their harrowing experiences of war.

The brave children at Saint Nicholas Hospital are survivors of this ongoing war, recovering from amputations, life-threatening lacerations, and neuro-motor disabilities. Their courses of treatment will require sustained care over time. Thanks to our generous donors, Soleterre’s team is able to remain at the sides of these children, supporting them through treatment and working to alleviate the trauma they endure due to the ongoing war.

Studies have shown that post-traumatic stress disorders, inclusive of anxiety and depression, are significantly correlated to disability, social and familial circumstances. In the case of Ukraine, these circumstances often include forced evacuations and the death of one or both parents. A child suffering through this trauma is at 4.5 higher risk of depression and 12.2 times the risk of self harm. Therefore, attention and care for those children navigating through trauma caused by war is of utmost importance.

Vitalik & Lisa are two examples of how strength and resilience. 

• Lisa was severely injured when a bomb fragment entered her dorsal spine and a fractured her leg. Her family was separated and brought to different hospitals to care for their injuries. Alone in the neurosurgery ward of Saint Nicholas Hospital, Lisa was scared and confused. Eventually, with the blessing of their doctors, Soleterre arranged to reunite the family in Lviv. Today, Lisa’s family is continuing their rehabilitation together. Lisa has regained feeling in her legs and is learning to walk once again!

• We met Vitaly in Lviv at Western Ukrainian Specialized Children’s Medical Center where he was in recovery from stage four sarcoma. Lviv is a 12 hour drive from Kharkiv, but it was the only place that could treat Vitaly’s condition effectively. After 5 cycles of chemotherapy, Vitaly will receive a bone marrow transplant with the help of our staff. We continue to support Vitaly with psychological support as he takes on each new challenge brought upon by this horrible disease.

The center for Unbroken Kids is made possible thanks to our partners, Zaporuka Foundation and First Medical Union of Lviv. The center is open and operational, but there is still much to do.

Since the beginning of the war in January 2023, our physiotherapists have assisted 60 children recover from major surgeries. Together with our psychologists, no child has had to face these traumatic events alone. Today, thanks to the center for Unbroken Kids, we will be able to extend our efforts to hundreds of children in need.

Help us to return a sense of hope to those grappling with the trauma of this war. 

Links:

• Learn more about the UNBROKEN project at Saint Nicholas Hospital
• Support our partners at Zaporuka Foundation