A new life for a school shelter

Compared to other oblasts of Ukraine, Sumy Oblast has the longest border with Russia and with it, great danger. Due to intensive shelling, all educational institutions in Sumy have had to switch to distance learning. After a long absence, the students of Shostka Secondary School No. 5 were eager to return to their desks and finally be close to their classmates. Because of the threat, the students were disappointed; the first day of school was held online, and—as is common—it was interrupted by a power outage.

"Given the current security situation in Sumy Oblast, the regional military administration has ordered that children must now study remotely. But we hope that shortly we will be able to work in a mixed form," says Mykola Mykhailenko, Principal of Shostka Secondary School No. 5.

Like most educational institutions in Ukraine, School No. 5 was not ready for war-time learning. The school's shelter was in poor condition, and the local community did not have enough money for repairs. The staff learned about our project, "Education Consortium in Ukraine: Safe Return to School". They applied and were approved. Last spring, large-scale work began at the institution. 

"With funds from the European Union and cooperation with the community, we overhauled the shelter. The work includes the repair of the floor, walls, and ceiling. We laid new internal communications, installed modern lighting and electrical equipment, and replaced the doors —interior and exterior. We rebuilt the bathrooms from scratch, installing the appropriate plumbing, a sewage station, a water heater, and water storage tanks. A new ventilation system was also installed, part of which was purchased at the expense of the community. A tremendous amount of work was done to make the children and staff feel comfortable," reports Yevhen Kotliar, Civil Engineer at People in Need.

The shelter will accommodate all 622 students and staff, if necessary. Inside the bright and spacious building, the space smells of fresh renovations and, with it, hope! All that remains to be done is to put up partitions to zone the classrooms and bring in the furniture. Mykola Mykhailenko hopes that the security situation will soon improve and that children will be able to go back to school and continue their lessons in the renovated shelter during the air raid.  

Meanwhile, visitors to the Digital Learning Centre (DLC) we opened in the same school are waiting for the alarm to end, sitting in a shelter. "Not all children have the opportunity to connect to online lessons from home. That's why we provide them with everything they need," says facilitator Olha Neroda. 

She continues, "We give children laptops, headphones, and mice. We help them connect to the lessons. Online learning does not take place during an alarm. That's why we try to keep students busy with something interesting. Here they are drawing. We can also do crafts or homework. As soon as the security situation becomes clearer, we will organise various activities for the children after school."

It is clear from the children's faces that they missed each other after the summer holidays. Eighth-grader Sofia, like her peers, is tired of being at home:

"I wanted to come back to Be Smart. Here, you can study and communicate with friends, play games, draw, and have fun."

"Children want to go to school. They want to sit at their desks and see their teacher and their friends. They ask to be taught even during air raids. Children miss friends and socialisation," adds Olena Stepanova, mother of 8-year-old Mykhailo.

Of course, the shelter is not as comfortable as the spacious classrooms flooded with daylight. However, our team are doing everything in their power to make the children feel comfortable and give them access to continuous learning. With financial support of the European Union, we have repaired 23 schools in Sumy Oblast alone. We wish the children a speedy return to their desks and a calm and successful school year.