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Dear there,
Imagine waking up one day to missile strikes, fleeing your home with whatever possessions you can carry, and having to live underground in a nearby subway station indefinitely.
That was the reality for hundreds of people I met while coordinating Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)’s emergency response in Kharkiv, Ukraine between May and August of 2022.
Needless to say, the mental health challenges people were struggling with were profound. When MSF teams went into Kharkiv’s metro stations to hold group therapy sessions with families, I saw first-hand how war leaves psychological wounds that are invisible but no less serious than physical wounds.
When I first arrived in Kharkiv, Russian forces had almost completely surrounded the city and were unleashing a steady barrage of artillery and missile strikes.
Navigating our response while keeping MSF staff safe was a huge challenge. MSF teams would descend into the subway stations at night when strikes were happening and check on people taking cover. For those really struggling with their mental health, we held private counseling sessions. The Kharkiv subway authority even let us use their station booths as offices to give our patients some privacy.
I’ll never forget how some of the first people to sign up for therapy sessions were Ukrainian mayors and local leaders. They were under such pressure to keep their constituents safe and provide for their basic needs. MSF also provided counseling to healthcare workers to help them process what they were witnessing on the ground, and even set up a phone hotline they could call for support.
So many people lost everything overnight—their jobs, their homes, even their loved ones. Amidst such loss, it was important for us to make sure their children were being cared for psychologically as well.
MSF conducted play therapy for children, providing a safe place for kids to just be kids, with lots of fun games and art projects for them to express themselves and process their emotions.
One thing I’ll always remember is watching the kids play during these group sessions. Witnessing the unbridled joy they got from chasing a ball or coloring in a book, despite living in an active warzone, warmed my heart—and gave me hope.
When people ask me about my experience in Ukraine, I respond by emphasizing that the needs are still so great for so many people. The trauma of war is something families will be processing for years, even if the war one day comes to a close. MSF will be there—even when the headlines have faded—and that’s why I’m so proud to work with this fiercely independent, deeply committed organization.
Make no mistake: our incredible supporters enable us to respond in Ukraine and other emergencies around the world until we’re no longer needed. We’re dedicated to providing lifesaving physical and mental health care, wherever the need is greatest.
This email was sent from the U.S. section of Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), an international independent medical humanitarian organization that delivers emergency aid to people affected by armed conflict, epidemics, natural and man-made disasters, and exclusion from health care.
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