“Almost one year since the escalation of the war in Ukraine, a generation of children has experienced 12 months of violence, fear, loss, and tragedy,” wrote the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on February 21. According to the organization’s most recent statistics, at least 438 children have been killed by acts of war, with 842 injured. Over 2,300 education institutions and more than 1,000 healthcare centers have been damaged or destroyed. And these are just the verified cases. Within Ukraine, some 3.3 million children and youth rely on humanitarian aid. Unexploded bombs and landmines pose yet more dangers.
As the war drags on, its psychological burden on children increases. UNICEF estimates—probably conservatively—that 1.5 million Ukrainian children are at high risk of depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
The music therapist Nigel Osborne has been working with children and youth in Ukraine for several months. In this essay, he describes his experiences clapping, singing, and composing with children in a war zone.
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