11-year-old Daryna returned from the temporarily occupied part of Zaporizhzhia to her parents

11-year-old Daryna* has not seen her parents since the beginning of the large-scale war. For almost two years, she has been living with her grandparents in the territory temporarily not controlled by the government of Ukraine. Finally, this weekend – thanks to the efforts of the Ukrainian Child Rights Network and the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine – the girl will be able to hug her mom and dad.

This journey home was planned for two months.

In December 2023, a woman named Maria turned to the Ministry of Reintegration with a request to help her daughter get out of the part of Zaporizhzhia region temporarily not controlled by the government of Ukraine.

Before February 24, 2022, the girl went there to visit her grandparents. When the invasion began, they could not immediately leave for safer territory: her grandmother was seriously ill and could not be transported. For the parents, a trip to pick up their child could have been a one-way ticket due to certain circumstances.

But then my grandmother passed away, and my grandfather realized that there was no point in delaying – he had to get out to the territory of free Ukraine…

Every return home, every rescue of a child from occupation is a challenge for the team of the “WAY HOME” project. This case was no exception. But in the end, we are happy: the family reunion took place, and we say to another child: “Welcome home!”

*For family safety reasons, names have been changed.

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“The Way Home” is a project aimed at finding and returning children displaced to the Russian Federation or to the non-government controlled areas of Ukraine, as well as reuniting families whose children are without parents during the occupation. The project is implemented by the Ukrainian Child Rights Network in partnership with the international humanitarian organization Save the Children in Ukraine.

Our other partners are: Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine, EDUKIDS Charitable Foundation, Media Initiative for Human Rights, Office of the Ombudsman of Ukraine.

Join the Way Home project and make a contribution to the return of children, as it requires considerable resources.

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The materials developed within the project do not necessarily reflect the official position of Save the Children.