A Child Should Grow Up in a Family from the First Day — Liudmyla Shemelynets at the Opening of the Exhibition “Talk to Me”

Every child should grow up in a family from the first day. Liudmyla Shemelynets, First Deputy Minister of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, emphasized this at the opening of the exhibition “Talk to Me”.

The project is dedicated to children and young people who have spent most of their lives without parental care. Each exhibit tells a story — through photos and videos — about a childhood without a family and how everything changes when caring adults appear.

According to Liudmyla Shemelynets, the state is systematically working to develop family-based forms of care. At present, 57,000 children have been placed in foster families and family-type homes, as well as under guardianship and custody.

“For most of us, family is something we take for granted. But for children who have grown up without parental care, it is a true dream. Every child wants their mother to go to parent–teacher meetings, to be waited for at home. That is why the state’s priority is to ensure that every child grows up in a family from the very first day,” emphasized the First Deputy Minister.

She expressed her gratitude to the organizers and to the heroes of the exhibition for their courage in sharing their stories, noting that such initiatives help society better understand how significant it is to have a family for every child.

The project “Talk to Me” was initiated by the Kateryna Osadcha Foundation, in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Policy, Family and Unity of Ukraine, the Coordination Center for Family Upbringing and Child Care Development, the Olena Zelenska Foundation, and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), with financial support from the European Union.

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