An Integrated Approach
KIND in Europe is based in Belgium and operates across 9 countries: Belgium, Czechia, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and the UK. We work with 14 expert NGOs and 51 law firms and corporate pro bono partners to advance protection for children on the move. Since 2016, our work with civil society and legal professionals has built deep expertise in protecting unaccompanied and separated children.
This fact sheet provides an in-depth look at how six European countries (France, Greece, Poland, Slovenia, Italy, and Slovakia) protect unaccompanied foreign minors through voluntary guardianship systems.
Read moreThis fact sheet explores how each national system supports unaccompanied minors during their critical transition to adulthood.
Read moreChildren displaced by the war in Ukraine face growing risks of trafficking, exploitation, abuse, and violations of their basic rights across Europe. Civil society organizations play a vital role in protecting these children, delivering specialized services and working with government agencies to ensure access to safety, legal support, and justice. Suzir’ya brings together national and cross-border partners to build innovative, child-centered solutions.
The goals of the project are:
▪ To improve skills and knowledge of CSOs, governments, and other key stakeholders to identify, document, and preserve evidence of conflict-related crimes committed against children displaced from Ukraine, who are now living in Czechia, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia.
▪ To establish coordinated interagency hubs to provide legal and psychosocial assistance.
▪ To strengthen integrated child protection systems.
▪ Coordinate key actors and systems at the transnational level.
KIND works with expert local partner non-profits to deliver legal information and assistance to unaccompanied and separated children across Europe, helping them to reunify with family, regularize their status, access their rights and protections and obtain citizenship.
KIND partnered with POMA Global, an organization focused on improving mental health in crisis-impacted communities to best understand how we could support children. PoMA completed a mental health needs assessment which found that children from Ukraine are suffering higher levels of anxiety and distress due to instability, and caregivers are struggling to support children because they are also experiencing traumatic stress and adversity due to war and displacement. The assessment found that there was a need for visual resources and tools that can offer a concrete set of strategies to caregivers who are themselves impacted by the war.
