Resources for Supporting Children in War, Genocide, and Conflict

By: Rümeysa Öztürk, PhD

In addition to supporting and advocating for humanitarian aid, raising awareness, contacting representatives to advocate for unconditional humanitarian assistance to Gaza, here are some actions I find particularly meaningful in the long term to support children who experienced war, genocide, and conflict.

Holding space for grief and hope

With some of my friends, I created a community space to grieve for children who have been affected by genocide, war, conflict, and hardship in the past. We shared poetry, reflected in silence, journaled, and collaborated on a story quilt, holding space for grief, fostering compassion and connection. This experience showed us the value of coming together as a community—not just for children, but for everyone witnessing the pain inflicted on children all around the world. If it speaks to you, you might gently explore creating similar grief spaces of your own, whether through poetry, art, or reflection.

Volunteering for refugee children

According to UNICEF (June 2025), by the conclusion of 2024, the overall number of children forced to leave their homes due to conflict and violence reached 48.8 million, with significant groups of children displaced in various regions globally, including Sudan, Myanmar, the Gaza Strip, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan. This figure encompasses approximately 19.1 million children who are refugees and asylum-seekers.

When the ‘home is the mouth of a shark’ and when ‘home chases you to the shore’, some children don’t have any other option, and they are forced to leave their homes to escape bombs after witnessing the killing of loved ones and other human beings, and being deprived of food, water, and medical care. In some situations, children separate from their families or lose loved ones (Suárez-Orozco et al., 2015), suffer from malnutrition, witness violence, and lose educational opportunities (Scharpf et al., 2021).

It is almost a miracle that refugee children have survived the wars, but this survival comes at a cost we cannot overlook. Refugee children face a high rate of prevalence of negative psychosocial effects, such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and adjustment difficulties (Crowley, 2009).

When we share daily environments with refugee children, we cannot pretend that nothing has happened. Much has occurred, stealing away their precious childhood—a time deeply valuable to all human beings. Trauma revisits these children gradually as they grow up, and they bear the burden of war and trauma for a long time.

Refugee children have experienced unique obstacles that deserve our care, love, and attention. There is plenty of meaningful work for all of us, every day, from volunteering in local or online communities—such as tutoring, supporting children’s play, offering language assistance to serving as supportive and consistent mentors. Some of the refugee children are our students, neighbors, or your children’s friends. We have an opportunity that exists in our everyday surroundings. We mostly don’t have this opportunity for children living in war and conflict regions. Although we cannot change the past, we can give back some of the childhood that was stolen and bring moments of joy in the ways we can.

Amplifying the voices of children from Palestine, Ukraine, Sudan, Uyghur communities, and all regions affected by war

Many heartfelt stories have been shared by children and adults recalling their childhood experiences of conflict and war. While some are painful, they deserve to be heard, amplified, and offer valuable insight to all of us. To begin, you might explore:

Celebrating and uplifting the stories and creative works of Palestinian, Sudanese, Uyghur authors, illustrators, and artists.

Genocides, wars, and conflicts not only harm people and places but can also silence the stories and artwork that reflect vibrant cultures beyond hardship. By reading diverse children’s books with your child and having thoughtful, age-appropriate conversations, you can nurture empathy and curiosity. There are so many websites where they share running lists of we all need to hear.

Supporting diverse storytellers

Supporting scholarships and funds ensures everyone has the chance to learn from and connect with diverse authors' experiences, creativity, and journeys.

You can initiate scholarships, fellowships, or residency programs at universities, writing communities, libraries, or organizations to uplift the voices of storytellers who can speak to their and their communities’ childhood experiences.

As a good example, Boydsmills Foundation has a Palestinian Writers and Illustrators Scholarship: https://boydsmills.org/palestinian-voices-scholarship/

You can directly donate to local libraries located in locations affected by war and conflict.

Amplifying the voices of advocates

Supporting the voices of children’s literature and media organizations and content creators who advocate for all children’s rights, life, access to safety, education, and books.

Please speak up publicly

This is not a time to be silent, as children are being killed and harmed every moment. Please use your privilege (including the privilege of being an adult) to speak out and invite others to join you. Social learning theories show that we learn from each other, so each of us has the power to shape how our world cares for its children. “The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe.” Together, we can create a safe and kinder world for all kids—whether in our own neighborhoods or far away in Gaza, Sudan, Congo, Ukraine, Uyghur, and many other places where children are living with war, conflict, and oppression, and children held in harsh conditions in immigration detention centers.

With every word, choice, and action, we set the tone for how children should be treated. Every child deserves dignity, safety, care, and the chance to be with their loved ones. Every child deserves food, water, access to medicine, education, and love. No child is an exception—regardless of where they live or where they are from. It takes our love and care to keep improving—and speaking up together, step by step, until every child’s life and well-being are at the center of our world.

There are countless ways to show you care. Here are some of my personal reflections on supporting children through difficult times. What are yours? I’d love for you to write and share your own notes so we can learn together and discover new ways to care for and uplift all children.