H.M. Princess Tatjana visits ukrainian children

Last Monday, she therefore visited the Child Protection Center at Vienna Central Station, which was set up by SOS Children's Villages for children in flight.

The center is available to families on the run and in transit every day from 12 - 7 p.m. and serves to give girls and boys a safe place to retreat. Many have been fleeing for days, hiding in shelters and traveling for hours and days on buses and trains. "You can tell that many of the children are traumatized, and the drawings the children left here show that. Here in the
Child Protection Center, they find a place to rest and have time to catch their breath and recharge their batteries," said the patron, who was very impressed by the project.

Safety and tranquility are the most important
The child protection zone is located in the premises of Caritas Vienna, which offers free meals to the arriving people. This gives the mothers the opportunity to eat something in peace, to gather themselves and to know that their children are well taken care of. It is also important that they are here in a protected zone, where even their few belongings are safe. "A Ukrainian woman, who herself helps out as a volunteer interpreter at the center, told me that some families have already had their luggage stolen during their flight," says I.D. Tatjana von Lattorff, visibly shocked. "The women and their children are exposed to a lot of stress, so I particularly liked the quiet, safe and peaceful atmosphere at the day center," the mother of seven continues. "Here, for a moment, the girls and boys can just be kids again and play." While some children use the cozy area to retreat, others live out their
urge to move and romp around. A wide variety of games for all ages, painting and handicraft materials, and a cuddle corner await the children. Through play, they come to terms with the challenging situation in which they currently find themselves.

Comprehensive support from SOS Children's Villages
SOS Children's Village is supported by volunteers, some of whom are themselves from Ukraine. The occupancy rate of the day center varies greatly, sometimes there are a handful of children there, sometimes up to 25 at a time. Many families are passing through to visit acquaintances and travel on after a few hours or days, some as far as Spain or France. Others stay in Austria, about 100 children and their caregivers have been taken in by the various facilities of SOS Children's Villages Austria, and the admission of more children and families is already in preparation. In addition to the aid in Austria, SOS Children's Villages provides 60,000 people in the border areas of Ukraine with basic necessities and looks after over 500 fled, single children in the SOS Children's Villages in Bulgaria, Romania and the Czech Republic with psychological support from the SOS Trauma Experts.

Thanks to the willingness to help of countless donors, including from Liechtenstein, SOS Children's Villages is also able to respond quickly in this situation with its own staff on the ground. "It is important to relieve children in such crisis situations. I would like to thank all employees and countless volunteers for this, how quickly and professionally they do everything they can to give these girls and boys back a piece of their childhood," said the visibly moved patroness.