Ten air raid alarms in five days. Shahed drones are crossing the skies above the Black Sea. Missile strikes in and around Odesa. Every day brought new uncertainty, forcing people to interrupt their routines and seek shelter.
Yet every morning, teenagers and their families returned.
Participants gather for a plenary session during the Kid Friendly Summer Lab in Odesa. The programme brought together teenagers and their families through creative workshops, non-violent communication, storytelling, and shared learning, strengthening resilience and community connections during wartime.
They came to learn, create, tell stories, make films, discover new interests, and simply spend time together. When the air raid sirens sounded, the activities moved underground. When it was safe again, they continued. The programme adapted to the realities of war, but it never stopped.
This determination became the defining spirit of the Kid Friendly Summer Lab, a five-day programme organised by Kid Friendly, Pro Peace's local partner in Odesa, as part of the project No Drama Communication for Families and Communities: An Approach to Inner Transformation and Peacebuilding During Conflict.
Bringing together teenagers and their families, the Summer Lab combined communication workshops, storytelling, creative arts, videomaking, career orientation, and team activities. More importantly, it offered something increasingly valuable in times of war: a place where young people could express themselves freely, discover their strengths, and strengthen relationships with their families and peers.
Teenagers take part in a group communication exercise during the Kid Friendly Summer Lab in Odesa. Through interactive activities, participants strengthened communication skills, built self-confidence, and developed meaningful connections in a supportive learning environment.
Some teenagers arrived simply to "have a look". By the end of the week, they stood together to receive certificates, celebrating not only the completion of the programme but also the confidence they had gained along the way. Parents described the Summer Lab as a place where their children found new ways to express themselves, build friendships, and reconnect with others despite the uncertainty surrounding everyday life.
Reflecting on the experience, Olga Khill, Head of Kid Friendly, said:
"For me, this camp became a living example of resilience: joy, connection, creativity, and mental health support under war conditions."
Young participants take part in the Kid Friendly Summer Lab in Odesa, where children and teenagers explored creativity, communication, and self-expression in a supportive and inclusive environment.
Beyond a Summer Camp
The Summer Lab is one of many activities implemented through the No Drama Communication for Families and Communities project. Working with internally displaced people, parents, teenagers, and temporarily displaced Ukrainian women in Odesa and beyond, the initiative promotes non-violent communication, creative learning, peace education, and civic participation. Its goal is to strengthen social cohesion by reducing stereotypes and prejudice while creating opportunities for people to meet, communicate, and better understand one another.
The project reaches communities across Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson, supporting families affected by displacement and war through socially engaged art, community-based learning, and dialogue. By bringing together people with different experiences and backgrounds, it encourages mutual understanding, respect for diversity, and stronger connections within local communities.
Between air raid alarms, children found moments to play, explore, and simply be themselves. In a city where daily life is shaped by the constant threat of drones and missile attacks, these moments remind us why creating safe spaces for children matters. The Summer Lab offered young participants an opportunity to experience creativity, joy, and connection, small but powerful expressions of hope amid the uncertainty of war.
Investing in People, Investing in Peace
War changes communities in countless ways. It isolates people, places relationships under strain, and often leaves little room for creativity or simply being together. Initiatives like the Summer Lab cannot remove those realities, but they can create spaces where trust is rebuilt, confidence grows, and people rediscover their own strengths.
For Pro Peace, supporting local initiatives means investing in the people who keep communities connected even in the most difficult circumstances. Every opportunity for children, young people, and families to create, learn, and communicate together strengthens the relationships that help communities withstand conflict. These everyday moments of trust, participation, and mutual support contribute to stronger social cohesion and help communities build a more resilient future.