One month in Zakarpattia with Emergency Smile
Following our March Ukraine mission to Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk, our team set out once again for Ukraine—this time with plans to continue our work in the same regions. But as security risks escalated, the mission was relocated to Zakarpattia, the country’s westernmost region.
Although Zakarpattia is currently considered the safest part of Ukraine, the war is never far away. It touches every Ukrainian—whether through personal loss, displacement, or the absence of loved ones.
The region has become a refuge for huge numbers of people evacuated from other parts of the country: mothers with children, those who have lost their homes, the injured, older people, orphans, and children and adults with disabilities. Many have endured the horrors of war first-hand and now depend on support—yet local services are stretched to the limit.
That’s why our healthcare clown trio—Michal, Marija and Vaiva—together with Veronika Kočišová as Head of Mission, spent an entire month bringing lightness, encouragement, and connection to communities of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from eastern Ukraine.
Meeting communities across Zakarpattia
Over four weeks, the team visited care homes, shelters, hospitals, sanatoria and residential facilities for people with mental and physical disabilities. Every stop was different and every group unique.
With Caritas Uzhhorod, the artists led activities for children and adults with disabilities, and held a Humour Relief Workshop for their mothers—a space where they could pause and share.
With I Mariupol, an organisation supporting people displaced from Mariupol, the team prepared a lively show and activities for children and their mothers, followed by a Humour Relief Workshop for the staff themselves.
Children, laughter, and Circus Smile
At the regional sanatorium Maliatko, Michal, Marija and Vaiva performed their show and Circus Smile activities twice, each time for a large group of children—half of whom had come from eastern Ukraine. Unlike in the sanatorium, in the shelters we visited across the region the children were with some family members.
We also visited children’s hospitals in Uzhhorod and Mukachevo, bringing colour, music and laughter into the wards.
Working with veterans
For the first time in our practice, the team also worked with veterans, visiting veterans’ hospitals three times. This was new territory for Emergency Smile and we didn’t know exactly how our red noses would be received.
The welcome was warmer than we could have imagined. Wards turned into party rooms; concerts sprang up; jokes flew back and forth. Our ‘clown family’ grew to include men whose faces bore both the weight of their experiences and the unmistakable glow of joy. Some even wore red noses by the end.
Moments that stay with us
Each encounter in Zakarpattia was different—yet each left its mark. There were bursts of laughter and quiet smiles, moments of lightness in the midst of heavy days, and connections that needed no words.
The Emergency Smile Programme, run by RED NOSES International, was created in 2013 to provide psychological support to people in crisis areas through healthcare clowning. In conflict zones and humanitarian crises, the art of humour and play can reduce stress, strengthen resilience and build social bonds. Our healthcare clown artists are specially trained to work with people affected by trauma, responding to emotional states with sensitivity and offering not just laughter, but a sense of safety and closeness.