Overview

• Rooney met fitness coach Kateryna and her nonverbal son Murat at a UNICEF Educational Rehabilitation School, where children receive physiotherapy and music therapy to address wartime trauma.
• At the Spilno Hub in Krakow, she observed psycho-social support services providing counseling and community activities for families who fled frontline cities like Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih.
• Reflecting on her late sister Rosie’s battle with Rett syndrome, Rooney said the experience deepened her empathy for disabled refugee children facing lifelong challenges.
• Almost nine million Ukrainians have crossed into Poland since Russia’s invasion began in February 2022, with women and children making up the vast majority of those displaced.
• Rooney noted that children’s artwork shifted from dark, moody themes to vivid colors after undergoing treatment, underscoring the impact of ongoing therapy on their recovery.