KSE Foundation has equipped a shelter at the International Perspectives Academic Lyceum in Kryvyi Rih. The renovation has added space for 100 people, enabling more students to attend classes in person.
The shelter was established as part of the multi-year MYRP resilience programme, funded by Education Cannot Wait (ECW), the UN global fund that supports education for children affected by emergencies and protracted crises.
This is the 17th educational institution in Kryvyi Rih where KSE Foundation has helped create the conditions for children to return to in-person learning. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, KSE Foundation, with support from donors, has equipped 121 shelters in schools and kindergartens across Ukraine, helping more than 50,000 students return to the classroom.
“As a foundation that develops educational initiatives and supports talented young people, we understand that quality education is the foundation of the country’s future. Through the ECW programme, we equip shelters so that Ukrainian children can learn offline, as access to a shelter is a basic requirement for returning to in-person education,” said Maryna Borysenko, Director of Programmes and Implementation at KSE Foundation.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the lyceum’s students had been studying remotely. In the 2023–2024 academic year, the school began holding in-person consultations to help address learning losses. A return to in-person education was only partially possible from September 2024. Currently, students in grades 1–4 attend classes in person four days a week and study remotely one day a week. Students in grades 5–11 alternate between weeks of in-person and online learning.
Before the new shelter was equipped, the lyceum had four rooms in its basement that had been adapted for children to use during air raid alerts. However, the available space was insufficient to accommodate more students for in-person classes, meaning that students in grades 5–11 could attend school in person only one week out of every three.
With ECW’s support, KSE Foundation renovated a large basement room with a high ceiling, increasing the shelter’s capacity by 100 places. The renovation included installing new flooring, repairing and painting the walls and ceiling, replacing doors, upgrading electrical wiring and lighting, and insulating heating pipes. Restrooms were also installed, including accessible facilities for people with limited mobility, along with water supply and sewage systems.
The lyceum has 918 students, including 56 children displaced by the war from eight regions of Ukraine and eight children with special educational needs.
“The children really like the new shelter: it is bright and spacious, with high ceilings and good ventilation. Teachers are also pleased with the conditions, as the children now have more room than they did last school year. We are grateful for the renovation and furniture, and for helping our children continue their education even during this difficult period,” said Tetiana Melkumova, Acting Director of the International Perspectives Academic Lyceum in Kryvyi Rih.
KSE Foundation and its partners continue to equip shelters in educational institutions so that more Ukrainian children can learn in person in safe and comfortable conditions.