Ukrainian Youths Win Peace Prize for Developing Apps to Help Refugees

Three Ukrainian teenagers who developed apps for children fleeing the war in Ukraine were awarded this year's International Children's Peace prize at a ceremony in London on Friday, Nov. 17,  The Guardian,  reports.

Sofia Tereshchenko, 18, Anastasiia Feskova, 17, and Anastasiia Demchenko, 17, were awarded the prize for developing a pair of apps for refugee children.

Inspired by a news report of a lone child crying while crossing the Ukraine-Poland border, the trio met online and developed one app for young children who have fled their country, to help them understand where they are and how to seek help, and another for older children on how to integrate into the countries they successfully sought refuge in.

Tereshchenko fled Ukraine with her mother and relocated to Ely, Cambridgeshire, UK. Her father and brother still remain in Ukraine. She said the family were always tight-knit and that being separated was "heartbreaking."

Accepting the prize in person, Feskova said: "It's time for the adults to take responsibility for their actions that affect children."

"As much as we want all children to have a safe and peaceful childhood. We understand that reality is different," she said.

The International Children's Peace prize was first awarded in 2005. In 2013, Malala Yousafzai was awarded the prize, having been nominated the year prior. She went on to win the Nobel prize in 2014. In 2019, Greta Thunburg was awarded the prize for her climate activism.

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