On August 19 First Lady of Latvia Andra Levite met remotely online with First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska. The First Ladies of Latvia and Ukraine discussed the immediate need to think about strengthening the mental health of soldiers, civilians and especially children.
As Andra Levite explained, the horrors of war present major mental health challenges and there is no way to predict when and how post-traumatic stress disorders may manifest. Special training should be provided to educators working at schools and kindergartens. “The devastation caused by other humans is the worst and most incomprehensible. Natural disasters can be survived and understood, but not the evil within humans,” the First Lady of Latvia emphasised.
Olena Zelenska thanked Latvia for receiving wounded Ukrainian soldiers and providing them with the medical care they desperately need.
Andra Levite noted that next week, on August 24, at Riga Castle President of Latvia Egils Levits will meet with children of soldiers serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and National Guard, who are attending a week-long camp in Latvia hosted by the State Defence and Patriotism Foundation “Namejs”. The fathers of these children have been wounded or killed in action by Russian occupiers.
Olena Zelenska expressed her heartfelt gratitude to Andra Levite for her courageous decision to visit Ukraine to attend in person the summit “Ukraine and the World: The Future We (Re)Build Together” and visit war-torn cities and hospitals (on July 23 of this year). In response, Andra Levite noted that she “had been courageous for only 24 hours, whereas the people of Ukraine are courageous all the time”.