The Alvia Family Center in Ukraine
by Richard Katz
with Dr. Alyona Permyakova
The History and Mission of the Alvia Family Center
entrance to the Alvia Center
Since 2022, the Flower Essence Society has been actively working with Dr. Alyona Permyakova, a doctor of Anthroposophic Medicine and Homeopathy. We have supplied donated flower essence formulas for her patients, and particularly for families with small children. Dr. Alyona Permyakova returned to her embattled home city of Zaporizhia only 45 km (25 miles) from the active war front, to establish the Alvia Family Center. This is how she describes her effort:
Our Center is a space of unification of medicine and
pedagogy. A space where it is comfortable and safe. Where each
specialist finds the way to the development and recovery of clients and
patients
A climbing wall is functioning, thanks to which muscles of hands and legs are strengthened, tension and stress are relieved, thinking and aspiration to achieve the goal are developed. That will help children and teenagers not to drown in the terrible realities of their current existence.
Zaporozhye
is a front-line city against this background the residents suffer a lot. Today we live in round-the-clock alarms, daily explosions from heavy strategic weapons. They claim the lives of adults and, worst of all, the lives of children who never had time to live.
climbing wall at the Alvia Center
Dr. Alyona Permyakova
Destroyed homes, lack of finances, lack of proper medical, psychological and social care. Most of the men went to defend their country, forced, leaving their wives and children alone.
In
Zaporizhia
, children do not go to kindergartens
and schools, all education moved to online education in 2020 due to
Covid, and from 2022 due to the war. The children suffer a lot from lack
of in-person experiences.
One of the projects is "Mothers and Babies", where small children together with their mothers receive psychological, correctional and social help. During alarms, children and parents move to the shelter of our center.
Also, for teenagers, there are classes
on speech and writing development. That contributes to the maintenance
of literacy skills, not having the opportunity, in our time, full and
quality education in Ukrainian schools because of active hostilities.
There are classes with 2 year old children born in Zaporizhia during the war with lessons led by a psychologist and a teacher. There are several children in our group, some of whose fathers are at war, and the children miss them very much.
Our center has 3 psychologists, 1
teacher, 3 rock climbing coaches, and also doctors, a family doctor, a
pediatrician, a gynecologist, a rehabilitation specialist.
Our work formats are aimed at the comprehensive development of the child: from physical abilities to emotional intelligence. We combine various therapeutic approaches to ensure harmonious development and socialization. A key component is the preservation of Ukrainian culture and traditions, which are integrated into the activities. This helps children develop a sense of national identity and belonging to a community. Social games and group sessions support the formation of peer interaction skills, which are an important step toward the successful socialization of children with special needs.
Learn more about the Alvia Center Social Projects
"Our work formats are aimed at the comprehensive development of the child:
from physical abilities to emotional intelligence."
Sunflower Summer Camp
crafts at the Alvia Center
Music with young children
Movement with young children
Kinder Garden is a huge support for all children in Zaporizhia, sirens every day, explosions at night. For all the children to whom I gave this formula, they calmed down with less anxiety about explosions. It has also helped them to be more attentive in learning
— Dr. Alyona Permyakova
The Alvia Family Center celebrates their one-year anniversary on November 14, 2025, just a month after Russian shelling damaged their windows. Despite the challenges of living in the shadows of a cruel war, the center is proud of their accomplishments, which they listed as follows:
🧗 300+ training sessions at the bouldering climbing wall
👶 120+ developmental classes for kids aged 1-2.5 years
🩺 About 200 medical consultations with a family doctor and a gynecologist-endocrinologist
🎉 2 open days, attended by about 80 children
🧡 8 free classes in children's trauma therapy
🏅 Rock climbing competitions, attended by almost 100 children
⠀
We persevered every day. And over the course of this year, we brought smiles to the faces of over 1,000 children in
Zaporizhia
and their parents.
The Flower Essence Society can receive your tax-deductible (USA) contributions on our website via credit card, and then we will bundle the contributions and send a bank transfer directly to Alvia.
Cleaning up the damage from Russian shelling
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