According to the United Nations, more than 11 million Ukrainians have been displaced since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, an estimated 5 million of whom have fled the country as refugees. Of those refugees, UNICEF estimates that more than 2.5 million are children and youths. Given that the population of minors in Ukraine was estimated at just 7.5 million prior to the start of the invasion, this means that one-in-three Ukrainian children and youths are now refugees.

Refugees who are orphans have an estimated double the risk of poor physical and mental health outcomes (Wiens et al., 2020). Beginning in March 2022, over 900 orphans from the Dnipro Region of Ukraine have been evacuated as refugees to Antalya, Turkey. The Dnipro Region is in eastern Ukraine and is adjacent to the Donbas Region, which appears to be a primary target of Russia’s military campaign. Because Russian forces from throughout western Ukraine are now retreating to the east, Dnipro is coming under increasing attacks. As a result, evacuation efforts have intensified, and now Antalya is expecting an estimated 400% increase in the number of orphan refugees. Supplies to support these children are urgently needed.

Since early March, Publication Academy has collaborated with a decentralized set of humanitarian efforts by volunteers in Antalya to support the displaced orphans. These efforts have been privately funded up to this point, with Dr. Jay Singh, the CEO of Publication Academy and a clinical psychologist who lives in Antalya, as an “on the ground” resource and community advocate. With a new donation from Templeton World Charity Foundation, Publication Academy aims to purchase and deliver key supplies the orphans need for their basic health, activities of daily living, and the successful continuation of their education. The long-term hope of this effort is that the donated supplies will provide a “protective factor”, mitigating the effects of the significant trauma which these children and youths have experienced and will continue to experience for the foreseeable future.