The Budylska school in Sumy region is 100 km from the border with Russia – together Ukrposhta and the charity foundation of the Kyiv School of Economics arranged a shelter for 180 of its students who come to this school from the surrounding villages. The shelter was repaired within the framework of the All-Ukrainian program “ZAKHYSTOK: Safe Education” from the KSE Foundation.
“While the Armed Forces of Ukraine protect all of us, Ukrainian teachers protect our children. When the air alarm goes off, they take schoolchildren to shelter, find the right words to reassure them, and daily instill in them a sense of their national identity. Ukrposhta thanks educators for their work and wisdom, as well as everyone who helps to do good deeds with their donations,” – commented Ihor Smilianskyi, General Director of Ukrposhta.
Thanks to the Ukrposhta team, toilets were installed in the damp basement of the village school, tiles were laid on the floor, ventilation and waterproofing were done, electrical wiring was replaced, lighting was installed, including emergency lighting, and all surfaces were painted.
“Our basement used to have a lot of sand on the floor and no ventilation. The children went down – dust and sand rose into the air. We tried to conduct lessons according to the schedule even during air alarms: we put old boards on the floor, installed bio-toilets. But all the same, the sand was rising, the very poor lighting made it impossible to study,” – says Raisa Kovalchuk, director of the Budylska school.
The renovated shelter not only allows all participants of the educational process to be in comfort, but also to conduct classes in some places – the school staff moved part of the desks into the shelter:
“Now parents and students are so satisfied. We are very grateful to Ukrposhta and the team of the KSE Foundation. We have something to compare with – it’s a completely different matter when the children come downstairs and there is a tile on the floor, ventilation,” – says Raisa Kovalchuk.
School psychologists note: the appearance of a cozy and comfortable shelter had a positive effect on the condition of children – especially schoolchildren who moved to the village from zones of active hostilities. There are seven such students in the Budilska school, they came from the Donetsk, Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.
“When the invasion began, Russian tanks drove through our village. We were not under occupation, but for two weeks enemy vehicles were constantly driving by, we constantly heard explosions coming from neighboring villages. We were lucky, only one window was broken in the school. But these first weeks we were isolated, there were no green corridors to leave and take the children out,” – says Raisa Kovalchuk.
In the new school year, students of the Budilska school will study offline, the equipped shelter accommodates all participants in the educational process. And another 25 schoolchildren who, together with their parents are abroad today, also dream of returning to their native school as soon as possible, they tell the teachers.
Ukrposhta continues to help with the arrangement of shelters in Ukrainian schools. We would like to remind you that last winter the charitable postage stamp “PTN PNH!” was put into circulation, dedicated to the anniversary of the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine. Part of the proceeds from its sale will be used to repair shelters within the KSE Foundation’s “ZAKHYSTOK: Safe Education” project.
You can also join for arranging school shelters — every dollar allows to repair more shelters