Over 130 affected

Ukrainian children are denied vacation camp

Many Ukrainian children's summer dreams are shattered.(Bild: Steiermark hilft)

What offered traumatized children a time-out last year is no longer possible this summer: Ukrainian families in Styria are surprisingly being denied funding for vacation camps in Austria and Italy. The reasoning behind this is completely incomprehensible to the organizations responsible.

It was supposed to be a few carefree days for the Ukrainian children - but what was made possible for them last year is being denied them this year. Just a few weeks before the summer camp, around 130 families had their funding from the state withdrawn.

"It's incomprehensible that the children should no longer receive anything under the same conditions as last year," says Andreas Loinig, who is responsible for the camps at Kinderfreunde Steiermark. For most families, this is the end of the summer dream - 700 euros per child is rarely affordable.

The summer camps in Italy or Austria are supposed to be a break for Ukrainian families.(Bild: Steiermark hilft)

The country seems to believe that the refugees "are no longer traumatized", Ulrike Krawagna from "Steiermark hilft" is also appalled. She had arranged for Ukrainian families to come to the summer camps in the last two years. When they came to Austria, they were offered support - for example in the form of family allowances and grants.

This is a drama for the children. The same directive is suddenly being interpreted differently in legal terms this year. This is completely incomprehensible to us.

Ulrike Krawagna, Steiermark hilft

Special regulation for 2023
The state councillor responsible, Simone Schmiedtbauer (ÖVP), argues with a special regulation that was only intended for 2023. This year, the support will once again apply exclusively to working parents - for whom the payments have even been increased.

However, Ukrainian families in basic care are now excluded - they accounted for ten percent of bookings at Kinderfreunde. We knew nothing about this regulation, emphasizes Loinig. It would also have helped to have been informed earlier - it is difficult to find alternative funding now. "It's a drama for the children," says Krawagna.