Keywords
project
project relevance
project effectiveness
war
How to Cite
Abstract
The article presents the results of a study of the relevance and effectiveness of the project "Children and War", which aimed to provide psychosocial support for children and youth affected by the war in Ukraine. The project was implemented by the International Charitable Foundation "Caritas of Ukraine". The problem was deemed relevant due to the war-caused deep humanitarian, social and psychological shocks, especially for Ukrainian children and youth, who were among the most vulnerable groups of the population, as well as for their parents, who lost their usual ways of social adaptation and interaction with children. This necessitated the development, implementation and study of the evidence base of special programs and methods of psychosocial support for children and their parents.
The study was conducted using the following methods: document review (analysis of interim and annual reports of Caritas Centers employees), telephone and face-to-face interviews with beneficiaries (children, parents/guardians who participated in the project), focus group discussions with Caritas Centers employees, as well as a combination of quantitative (survey) and qualitative data. 250 parents and guardians from five regions of Ukraine (Lviv, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Poltava and Volyn) participated in the online survey.
The study revealed a high level of relevance of the project, as was evidenced by data showing that the project's goals, methods and target groups were adequately adapted to the transformed context of the full-scale war, social disintegration and the growing psycho-emotional needs of children, youth, parents and professionals involved in providing assistance. It was also confirmed that all planned activities were implemented in accordance with the project's primary goal of supporting children from vulnerable categories, including IDPs. At the same time, during the project implementation process, the project underwent functional adaptation to new social conditions: new forms of work (including camps for children of military personnel) and topics (separation, emotional stabilization, work with loss) were introduced.
The obtained data also indicated a high level of project effectiveness, which was confirmed by both quantitative indicators of document analysis and beneficiary assessment. The project's effectiveness was ensured by such positive factors identified in the research process as a combination of systemic project management, adaptive team work, methodological excellence and a high level of trust in the organization. The interventions had high practical effectiveness in both cognitive and behavioral aspects, regardless of the regional context. At the same time, the factors that complicated the project implementation (security risks; subjective barriers; resource limitations; staff overload; individual institutional losses) need to be taken into account at the next stages of project implementation.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Zoriana Lukavetska, Iryna Pukhniak, Taras Karamushka, Liudmyla Karamushka