Many families are fleeing as the war in Ukraine continues, but many children are still left behind.
A state-run orphanage in Lviv is currently housing many of these children, whose ages range from three to 16 years old. The children fled Eastern Ukraine and will stay in Lviv during the war, according to “Good Morning America.”
CBS New York reported on Feb. 25, “It’s estimated there are more than 100,000 children in orphanages in Ukraine.”
The principal of the orphanage, Svitlana Havryliuk, shared with ABC News the importance of stability for the children, stating that they’ve already been through too much and do not need to be fleeing again.
James 1:27 says, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.”
In the orphanage, the children spend their time watching television, playing with toys, and engaging in other activities with the help of volunteers.
Anna Borshchuk, who was in college before the war started, is now one of the volunteers.
She told ABC News, “I think just time spending with them, being with them is the most important. Not like maybe money, not other games, but just being with them.”
The children are so affected by the war they react in hysteria when they hear sirens, Havryliuk says.
Havryliuk went on to explain how this has affected her.
She said, “During the first day, it was horrible. Probably every child was yelling, shouting, screaming, and it was impossible to go downstairs to the bomb shelter.”
Havryliuk has come up with a way to help the children in those moments telling “Good Morning America,” “If a child is terrified, you have to stay calm. Then you give them a hug and then he calms down.”
According to “Good Morning America,” many adoptions have been put on hold due to the war.