In London, the International Childrenʼs Peace Prize awarded three Ukrainian teenage girls who developed applications for children who fled the war.
The prize was awarded to:
- Sofia Tereshchenko, 18 years old;
- Anastasia Feskova, 17 years old;
- Anastasia Demchenko, 17 years old.
Before the war, the girls worked together on the development of a mobile application. Then they were shocked by the stories of children who were forced to flee across the border without their parents. They immediately changed the direction of their project and offered mobile applications that help refugee children who were unaccompanied by adults.
The Refee app helps children between the ages of 4 and 11 find all the information they need to feel safe in a new country and access basic needs such as safety, food and shelter. The SVITY app is designed for youth aged 16 and older who are struggling to integrate in a new country and facilitates communication between refugee children and children from host communities.
The girls want to expand their programs to all refugee children in the world. Of all refugees in the world, 40% are children (thatʼs 43.3 million children, of which approximately 3.5 million are left without parents).
Anastasiya Feskova, accepting the award, said: "Itʼs time for adults to take responsibility for their actions that affect children. As much as we would like all children to have a safe and peaceful childhood, we understand that the reality is different. We hope to create the best possible future for children, no matter who they are or where they come from. We need your support to make this happen. We need all of you to be open to interacting with children from different walks of life, with children who are forced to live in a completely foreign environment," she added.