We renovate air raid shelters for children

The war in Ukraine has, among other things, a major impact on children’s education. As a result of the security situation and the lack of air-raid shelters, more than 20 000 children are still learning online and around 126 000 in blended learning.

In order for a school or kindergarten to function normally, it must have places for its children in air-raid shelters. And these are either few in number or in a deplorable state. So schools have to teach in a hybrid or online way. We are trying to help Ukrainian children in this situation in two ways: by tutoring and renovating air-raid shelters.

Since July, we have been providing full-time math, Ukrainian and English language tutoring in Chernihiv and Kyiv regions for children aged 6 to 17 who are primarily educated online. Local teachers and tutors meet them live twice a week, giving children the opportunity to catch up on missed material and meet their peers or tutors in person. This also has a positive impact on their psychosocial development, as they have jumped from pandemic straight to war. Socialisation and communication are just as important as security.

Reconstruction and renovation of air-raid shelters for children

The second way we are trying to ensure a smooth education for Ukrainian pupils is to renovate the air-raid shelters, where they have to flee several times a day because of the alarms. These are mainly children who live in areas only a few dozen kilometres away from the Russian border. During sirens, which are quite frequent here, they have to move urgently to the air-raid shelters. They often spend long hours there, even though the conditions are far from ideal. The shelters are dark, damp, mouldy, without ventilation or heating. Since May 2024, the People in Peril team has been working on their reconstruction. We are repairing ventilation, lighting, heating, ceilings, floors and toilets. We care about children being able to spend time in dignified conditions during alarms. Renovations are in full swing and it is amazing to see how the old, cold and moldy spaces are being transformed into cozy classrooms suitable for the little ones. Indeed, even the little kindergarten children, who not infrequently sleep in them, come to take refuge in them during alarms.

In the video, our director Andrea Najvirtová guides you through one of the renovated shelters.

Lviv region

In the village of Ulychne in the Truskavets municipality, more than 420 children are taught in the local school. It is the only school in the wider area and some of the children have to walk three or four kilometres a day to get there. Headmaster Volodymyr Savchyn says the state of their air-raid shelter has been their biggest problem. “Before the war, nobody paid attention to it. When the war broke out, we had to go online. It’s just that the quality of education was declining and our goal was to go back to full education, whatever it takes. We found ourselves looking for organizations that could help us with air-raid shelters repairs.”

It succeeded. Thanks to our support, the floor of the shelter was repaired, lighting and ventilation installed. Pupils will not only be safe from September onwards, but can learn undisturbed during alarms without having to take forced breaks. The same work has been carried out in two other schools in the village of Modrychi and in the town of Truskavec. As the school is also attended by disabled children who were equally eager to socialise, we managed to build a wheelchair-accessible entrance.

Preschoolers will also be warm and safe

In the Lviv region, we also helped to repair and furnish the air-raid shelter at the kindergarten in Moršino. We replaced the wiring, installed new doors and installed heaters to keep the children not only safe but also warm during air raids. Previously, similar renovation work had been carried out by male and female staff on their own. However, finances did not allow them to go any further, so our help came in handy.

In order to accommodate all the children during the alarm, it was necessary to vacate another room, which was completely filled with furniture and nursery equipment. We have cleared the room and now all the children can fit in the shelter. Nursery director Halyna says: “First of all we would like to thank People in Peril for their support. However, we still have one more goal ahead of us – to create a small dining area for the children in the spare room. A large table can be placed in the middle where the children can have breakfast or lunch in groups. After all – when an air raid lasts longer, children have to eat where they are and it is uncomfortable for them, after all they are still small.”

Chernihiv region

During this summer, we also worked on the renovation and equipping of protective structures and air-raid shelters in five educational institutions in Chernihiv Oblast. We installed ventilation, new lighting, heating, repaired ceilings, floors, and provided toilets. The photos show the condition of the buildings before the work started and during the reconstruction.

One of these shelters is located in the cultural house of the village of Mihailo-Kotsiubynske. The premises were in a very bad condition, damp and cold. The ventilation, entrances and exits needed to be repaired, as well as the heating, sewage and waterproofing. The repairs started here in May with the dismantling and after the reconstruction the shelter will be used not only by the children attending the local clubs, but also by those from the nearby kindergarten. Until now, they have had to hide in a small dark cellar during alarms.

Also in Vykhvostiv we repaired the air-raid shelter of the local community centre. It should be used by the pupils of the nearby school. Because of the water below, the floor was in an unusable condition. The staff tried to fix some of the problems on their own, painted the walls, installed benches. However, it was still not enough for the children to be able to learn inside. In fact, the conditions inside the shelter were not adapted to ensure normal teaching and a safe and comfortable stay for the children, especially in winter. And so, since May, with the participation of our team, a full-scale renovation has been underway.

The school in the village of Kholmy, which is located about 50 kilometres from the border with Russia, is also in need of shelter repairs. The shelter is not spacious enough for all the children attending the school. Reconstruction started at the end of May, with the installation of lighting and drainage.

Reconstruction and repair works will also be carried out at the secondary school in the village of Rybotyn. A simple shelter will be set up in the cellar there.

The shelter will also be repaired in a kindergarten in the village of Kozylivka, which is located about 40 kilometres from the Russian border. Preparatory work is currently underway. The basement will be adapted so that the children can safely spend several hours there learning and playing.

We hope that children will have to hide in bomb shelters as little as possible in the new school year and, if necessary, that they will have safe, dignified and creative conditions for spending time and learning.

The funds for the renovation of the shelters were provided by the Open Society Foundation (Nadácia otvorenej spoločnosti) and the Pontis Foundation (Nadácia Pontis) with the generous support of the Taipei Representative Office in Slovakia. Thank you.

We continue to help people in Ukraine. Join us: https://peopleinperil.org/help-for-ukraine/

Here you can see the TV JOJ report about our renovations: REPORTÁŽ (only in Slovak language)