The 6-year-old boy returned to his parents: he lived a third of his life in the occupation with his grandparents

In May, Maksym* will turn six years old. For two of them, he lived under occupation with his grandparents. But finally, the boy returned to his parents. The Ukrainian Child Rights Network (UCRN) and the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine contributed to this.

In January 2022, Maksym’s mother got a job after her maternity leave, and the boy had no one to leave him at home with, so he was taken to his grandparents in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. After a while, the father planned to go on vacation and take the child back. But it didn’t happen – the war broke out and the village came under occupation.

“And since my husband is in the military, I was advised not to go either,” says the boy’s mother, “and then I became a military officer, my civilian position was changed to another category.

We thought the war would end soon, but it didn’t.

The grandmother was afraid to take her grandson out, because there were numerous Russian checkpoints in almost every village, and her health was failing.

“I searched the Internet for help, made phone calls. At first, it was to no avail. But one day I read that they managed to take the children out of the occupied territories,” Maksym’s mother continues.

Eventually, the woman called 1548, the hotline of the Ministry of Reintegration.

“And I was given your phone number,” is how we found out about Maksym.

This was the personal number of Natalia Yemets, Head of the Department for Deportees and Sanctions Policy of the Directorate for Protection of the Rights of Citizens Affected by Armed Aggression of the Ministry, the person with whom UMDPL works in the project on return of children.

Natalia referred the woman to Anastasia Khaliulova, a social work specialist and co-coordinator of the Way Home project, and they developed an action plan and a route for Maksym and his grandmother to arrive in free Ukraine. Anastasia also accompanied and supported them on the way.

…Yesterday, my grandmother and grandson met with his parents. The family is happy.

*The child’s name has been changed for the safety of all family members.

The Ukrainian Child Rights Network is implementing a large-scale project CHILDREN UA: MISSION – RETURN, aimed at finding and returning home children forcibly displaced to Russia or the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Part of it is the “WAY HOME” project, which is implemented in partnership with Save the Children in Ukraine.

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

Join the “WAY HOME” project and make your contribution to the return of children, as it requires considerable resources.

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