Daria Kasyanova for The New York Times: “Without support, more children could lose their families and their futures forever”
Publication date:
The New York Times has published an article about the consequences of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) funding freeze and its impact on aid programs around the world. Among the countries affected is Ukraine, where U.S.A.I.D. supported projects to protect children in the extremely vulnerable conditions of war and occupation.
In an interview with the Times, Daria Kasyanova, chair of the board of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network and program director of the charity organization SOS Children’s Villages in Ukraine, emphasized that the suspension of support has serious consequences for children living in the occupied territories.
“Approximately 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain at risk of forced deportation, indoctrination, militarization and destruction of their identity under the Russian occupation,” said Daria Kasyanova, “The occupation authorities systematically force Ukrainian children to attend Russian schools, military camps and programs aimed at erasing their national identity and preparing them to become part of the Russian armed forces.
According to Kasyanova, U.S.A.I.D.’s support was aimed at informing children and caregivers about the dangers they face and possible ways to help.
“Our project was designed to provide these children and their guardians with important information on how to recognize these dangers and where to seek help. People in the temporarily occupied territories live in an extremely limited information space and often do not even know that there are rescue services and where to go for help,” she said.
However, the freezing of funding has jeopardized the work of dozens of organizations that are members of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network.
“The suspension of U.S.A.I.D. funding has seriously affected both the Ukrainian Child Rights Network and our 40 member organizations,” Kasyanova said.
She emphasizes that without quick solutions, the situation with children in the occupied territories could become even more dramatic: “Without immediate action, more children will be permanently separated from their families and integrated into Russian-controlled structures, violating their fundamental rights and the future of Ukraine.”