How little Yehor from Ukraine found his passion for music playing violin in Georgia

“I like music session because it makes me happy. When I play on different instruments, I feel the rhythm. I especially like playing with the drums. During World Vision’s sessions we talk about ourselves, our feelings and our emotions. It is also fun to play with other kids,” six-year-old Yehor.

A year on, the war in Ukraine forced millions to flee their homeland and caused a huge humanitarian tragedy. A number of Ukrainian families have escaped the war in their country and are trying to find a safe place.  Among the host countries is Georgia that became home to more than 25,000 Ukrainian refugees.

With the aim of meeting the humanitarian and protection needs of Ukrainian children and families, World Vision provided assistance and services to nearly 11,000 refugees supported by Aktion Deutschland Hilft (ADH) and The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Georgia.

Among them is a six-year-old boy, Yehor, who now lives in Georgia with his mother Marina, grandmother Svitlana and little sister. He loves music and dreams about playing the violin. Ihor attends the music and inclusive dance sessions organized by World Vision every week.

World Vision provides diverse assistance and services to refugees putting great focus on psychosocial support. To help children overcome the stress caused by the war and improve their mental health, regular inclusive synthetic music and dance sessions are being organized.

He arrived in Georgia in June 2022 with his mother who was expecting a baby. One month later, Ihor’s grandmother Svitlana came to Georgia to help her daughter deliver the baby. Grandmother and Yehor are very connected to each other. Svitlana dedicates time for her grandson’s development and education. She is the one who learned about the music therapy and decided to enrol him.

“When I came to Georgia and saw how stressed and quiet my grandson was. I realized that we had to find some activities to help him. We searched for some programs for him on the internet and came across World Vision’s announcement about music and dance sessions for children. We applied instantly”, she shared.

The result, Svitlana said, exceeded their expectations. Yehor liked the activity very much. When he came out after the very first session, he was so happy and full of enthusiasm that they decided to attend regularly.

“After attending the sessions, I started noticing some positive changes. He became more open, started communicating and playing with other children. Now he is kinder, more sociable and cheerful. These sessions are very important for the children and their development,” the grandmother added.

Besides enjoying music and dance therapies, Yehor is looking forward to studying at a music school in Georgia. World Vision is trying to support him to make his dream come true.

“When I started attending music sessions I realized that we were going to play the musical instruments, dance, learn new things and have fun”, he said smiling and added “I also want to learn to play the violin. This is my dream. Now I am in kindergarten, but in one year I will study at a Georgian music school. My main dream is to live in a world where no one fights and there is no evil but only kindness.”

Tamar, the music therapist, said these sessions benefit children and play important role in their development. She explained that the program was especially designed and consists of several parts. During the first months therapists assess the resources, abilities and needs of each child and based on this information, gradually add new activities.

After attending the sessions, I started noticing some positive changes. He became more open, started communicating and playing with other children. Now he is kinder, more sociable and cheerful.

“The aim of these sessions is to assist children to advance their capabilities and help solve their problems gradually without extra pressure. Some children have problems with concentration and communication or other behavioural disorders. Through the activities, we help them to change their behaviour in the right way”, Tamar shared.

She added, “Even though it is a group session, our activities and games are oriented on each child’s requirements so that no one is left behind. We are using different types of instruments such shakers, maracas, drums, etc. Children adore the exercise with drumsticks. We play Rossini or Strauss music and try to keep up with the rhythm and synchronize.”

Children have fun and feel happy during the synthetic music and dance activities. The change is visible after each session. Tamar shared seeing the happy faces of children who were once sad, stressed and scared. 

Tamar also admits that music sessions impacted Yehor in a positive way. As she says, “In the beginning, he was shy from expressing his thoughts or initiating something; he preferred to stay silent. However, gradually he started expressing himself openly and became more active.”

“To encourage his participation, we sometimes acted as if we did not remember certain movements and asked him to demonstrate them. Through praising him, his self-confidence was increasing gradually”, she said.

After facing so many challenges and passing through many obstacles Svitlana managed to reunite with her daughter and grandchildren. Even though she is still worried about her close people who are in Ukraine, now she feels well and hopes for a better future.

“When I arrived in Georgia I felt very stressed and could not stop crying. We live in a rented flat and thanks to Georgian people we keep on living. Now I feel much better. I am very grateful to your organization for the financial assistance and diverse support we received from World Vision, such as cash assistance and vouchers for winter clothes for children.”

She continued, “We appreciate the psychosocial sessions and all other social activities that you organize for the Ukrainian children in Georgia."

World Vision responded to the needs of the Ukrainian refugees from the very onset of the crisis. With the aim to improve the mental health of 1,000 refugee women and children, World Vision provides regular psychosocial support such as art, music and dancing therapy for children; as well as individual and group sessions for Ukrainian refugees to deal with the traumatic experiences of war.

Story by Lika Chigladze, Communications Officer, WV Georgia I Photos by Chris Lete and Eugene Combo, UCR Communications