Helping disabled children and orphans in Ukraine

Because of the war, kids are psychologically traumatised. Ukrainian carers do a very important job: they provide parental care, love and family environment to orphans and kids with disabilities. We cannot support 270 children on our own, and we need your help.

Help us support 44 children with Down syndrome and other disabilities in Kryvyi Rih (central Ukraine) and 224 orphans in the Kharkiv region.

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See our reports

Sunflower’s programme for vulnerable children

Sunflower Scotland has been helping vulnerable children since mid-2023. Today we are supporting 224 orphans in foster care in north-east Ukraine, 25 miles from the Russian border: high drone danger.

In south Ukraine (Kryvyi Rih), we support 44 children with Down syndrome and other disabilities.

We provide:

1. Winterisation: high-capacity batteries for domestic heating and light

Foster family with children is receiving Ecoflow battery from Sunflower Scotland

Russia bombed Ukraine’s power grid in the winter of 2025-2026. At freezing outside temperatures of -20-25 Celsius, many children developed sicknesses and phychological trauma.

Powerful batteries (such as used in campervans) are absolutely critical. A single Ecoflow Delta 2 battery can power a gas boiler for 6-8 hours, keeping the house warm. in addition, it can charge a torch, or a mobile phone for emergency.

Petrol/Disel generators are not fit for purpose: many families live in flats, and generators cannot be used indoors. The cost of re-charing the battery is £0.10 per kWh. Electricity from a generator costs about £1 per kWh and poor families cannot afford it.

Examples:

2. Child-friendly hygiene and cleaning supplies

Orphan children in foster family in Krasnokutsk who received cleaning supplies from Sunflower Scotland, 06 April 2024

With children, washing and cleaning never stops. It is by far the biggest cost for carers. We regularly provide: Hypoallergenic shampoo, toothpaste, washing powder, nappies for toddlers, big-size nappies for older kids with mental disabilities, period products for teenage girls.

Examples:

3. Clothes and footwear

Sunflower donates jeans to 130 orphans in north Kharkiv region (Ermoshkina family)

We source high-quality, Ukraine-made clothes and footwear and provide them to children.

Examples:

130 Orphans in north Kharkiv region receive jeans

4. Gifts for Easter and Christmas

Merry Christmas poster, Sunflower Scotland giving gifts to children with special needs in Kryvyi Rih

In addition to caring for physyiological needs, we try (as much as possible) to support children’s mental state. We buy them Easter bunnies and Christmas chocolates, and organise small Christmas parties.

In 2024, we organised a large musical play for children in Krykyi Rih, including kids with disabilities. They absolutely loved it. However, after the theatre was bombed (later, in the summer months of 2025), we decided to stop any mass gatherings.

Examples:

Disabled child with Down's syndrome receives humanitarian aid from Sunflower Scotland

Disabled Children

During the war, Kryvyi Rih has become a hub for 200,000 refugees from Zaporizhzhia (east) and Kherson (south). The city’s social problems worsened: poverty, no paid work, overcrowded hospitals, crumbling social care.

We support a local organisation Sunflower Kids in Kryvyi Rih. It was set up by parents of children with Downs syndrome. It unites other families with similar disabilities. Their motto is “we can” – they don’t give up, despite all hardships. We have found them, and we have stretched a helping hand from Scotland.

Please see photo reports of our work.

Girl with Down syndrome in wheelchair receives a bag of cleaning supplies from Oleg Dmitriev, chairman of Sunflower Scotland in Kryvyi Rih

Boy with Down syndrome in striped shirt receives a bag of cleaning supplies from Oleg Dmitriev, chairman of Sunflower Scotland in Kryvyi Rih

Disabled Ukrainian girl in wheelchair at a concert organised by charities Sunflower Scotland (UK) and Shira Sprava (Ukraine) in Kryvyi Rih — Disabled Ukrainian girl in wheelchair

Disabled Ukrainian children holding chocolate gift sets at a Christmas concert organised by charities Sunflower Scotland (UK) and Shira Sprava (Ukraine) in Kryvyi Rih, south Ukraine

Orphans in north Kharkiv region

When Russia started the murderous war in Ukraine, Kharkiv moved many orphans to foster families to the west. Foster parents who looked after 3-4 orphan kids before the war, took many more kids. Now, some foster families care for 5-7 children, and some even 10 or 11 orphans.

Caring for so many children is extremely hard. Ukrainian families do not have big houses. Orphans come from different backgrounds: some were taken from rough parents who lost parenting rights due to alcohol and drug abuse or home violence.

Important role

But despite all that, foster families play an extremely important role in Ukraine. During the war, when all kids are traumatised, they provide safety, kindness and love.