14/10/25

Fourteen-year-old Anastasia has stepped inside school for the first time in three years. She is so excited to be there!

You have helped Anastasia take her first step back into school, alongside thousands of other Ukrainian teenagers.

New underground schools in Kharkiv are providing safe learning spaces for students, who conflict has forced to learn from home for years. This project is supported by AOA’s partners in Ukraine.

Underground students like Anastasia can learn without interruptions from air raids.

Mayor, Ihor, is deeply grateful to all those who have helped bring some normality to his city’s children. You are among these people.

‘[The students] are together again, talking, making friends, laughing. And this is priceless,’ Ihor says. ‘This is a chance to save a generation – to help them grow strong, educated and ready to rebuild their country.’

For children and teenagers, it has been a long three years of online learning. Isolation has affected students’ engagement and results.

One teacher, Sergey, reflected: ‘Schools should be lively, noisy, and full of energy. It’s good to have that atmosphere again.’

For Anastasia and children like her, it is a lifeline.

Thank you for helping make this happen!