Cold homes and frequent power outages have become an everyday reality for Ukrainians. For children, however, these are not just бытові inconveniences but situations that can trigger anxiety and a sense of insecurity. This is why the Academy of Care, together with NPC Ukrenergo, is launching a special initiative for Children’s Mental Health Week 2026, rubryka.com reports.
The project “Weeks of Care. The Energy of Our Home: Preserving and Multiplying It” aims to provide families with practical tools to help maintain emotional connection, inner warmth, and a sense of safety even in the most difficult circumstances. The initiative will reach around 700 families with children aged 6 to 9.
The “Weeks of Care” format is based on a three-way interaction between a child, an adult, and a psychologist via the MaPanda app. In real time, a psychologist controls an animated fairy-tale character while remaining “invisible” to the child, creating the effect of live and safe communication. Topics such as blackouts and instability are addressed through play and child-friendly metaphors.
“This year, we saw a strong need for gentle support amid a complex and unstable reality, especially during power outages. While energy workers restore the grids, we help families preserve emotional warmth and closeness,” says Anastasiia Svoboda, psychologist-methodologist and founder of the Academy of Care.
A guide into the world of emotional safety for children is Pascal the Kitty — a beloved character with a prosthetic paw and ear who teaches children to perceive differences as a normal part of life. According to the project’s storyline, Pascal helps families “set up” a Magic Router — a symbolic device powered not by electricity, but by trust, support, and love.
A special focus of the initiative is energy saving — not only electrical but also psychological. In cooperation with Ukrenergo, the project team created a dedicated “Energy Booster Guide” that combines practical tips on safe and efficient electricity use with psychologists’ recommendations on preserving emotional resources in prolonged crisis conditions.
Participation in the project is free of charge. After an online session with Pascal the Kitty, each family will receive a set of tools to support their child at home — from playful practices to emotional state trackers. The organizers are convinced that even when external systems fail, the bond between loved ones remains the light that cannot be switched off.
Background: The initiative is implemented by the NGO “Opportunities. Motivation. Media.” (Academy of Care) in cooperation with MaPanda and in partnership with the Presidential Advisor and Commissioner for Children’s Rights and Child Rehabilitation, Daria Herasymchuk, within the project “Gender-Sensitive Approaches to Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Ukraine”, implemented by GIZ Ukraine with funding from the German government.
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