Mobile schools for children in frontline Ukraine

Please help me support education and recreation projects for children living in frontline areas of Ukraine where schools, libraries, recreation centres and playgrounds have been destroyed by the war.

I'm a self-funded humanitarian aid volunteer and have been helping Ukrainian people since the start of the war. I visit shelters, hospitals and refugee centres all over the country, and go to frontline villages, taking essential supplies and giving support to those forced from their homes or remaining in dangerous places where the infrastructure has been destroyed. Through donations, I deliver essential items such as bedding, clothes, toiletries and basic medical equipment to orphanages, IDP centres, hospitals and specialist facilities caring for teenage children with psychological and psychiatric problems. Tens of thousands of people are living in temporary accommodation or in places which have been badly bombed. As they cope with upheaval, distress and constant disruption please will you help me to support school-age children in those places?

My current efforts include supporting Dream Act, a sustainable learning and recreation project for kids in the Kherson region. Kherson was invaded, occupied and badly damaged before being liberated. A year later the Kakhovka dam was bombed and terrible floods caused thousands to lose their homes and already meagre subsistence livelihoods. Those remaining are under constant shelling. The children have not had consistent schooling since Covid.

Together with a wonderful brother and sister team from Kherson city we have built and installed two 'mobile' school / libraries in two frontline villages. Children have a warm and friendly space to learn and play together and anyone in the community is free to use the facility. Our programme has now expanded to provide monthly weekend activity camps for children in 11 villages in the war torn region. Run by young volunteers, the camps provide young students with real physical connections with other children, away from their screens where they have had online schooling only for five years, since Covid.

We travel to the villages where children still live, rarely leaving their homes due to the inherent dangers. We organise games, sports, art activities, music, barbecues and group discussions. Children can voice their fears and anxieties with older mentors and are inspired to continue learning for as long as they are actively encouraged. The psychological benefits of these social interactions cannot be underestimated in places where many have died or lost loved ones in the war.

Having brought up three children, it is the young people my heart goes out to. Schools across the country have mostly been destroyed or requisitioned by local authorities to provide shelters for those fleeing frontline areas. Online schooling when there's power and internet connectivity is sporadic and disrupted. Recreation centres are destroyed or closed. I want to help alleviate the confusion, anxiety, stress and boredom in children which is leading to widespread demoralisation and depression in the youth.

All donations go directly to those in need. I spend nothing on administration, overheads or salaries. I give my time, energy, dedication and own money with love and without red tape. ALL cash donations, no matter the size, are valuable and vital and help me to help struggling children in a war zone.

Thank you very, very much. Дякую