Новини
New educational hub opens in liberated village in Kyiv Oblast, where school was destroyed
01 december 2023
10-year-old Kateryna from the village of Rudnytske is making a thread amulet for her military dad. He was wounded at the frontline. He is now recovering in a Kyiv hospital. Before the full-scale war, the girl and her parents lived in Kharkiv, and then moved to the Rudnytske village in the Kyiv Oblast. Kateryna started studying online after the school in the village was destroyed. Since the beginning of this school year, she has been going by bus to a nearby village. She has already attended several masterclasses at the brand-new educational hub. This time, they are making amulets for the military until 6 December.
“I’ll give mine to my dad to keep him safe. My dad is in hospital in Kyiv. He feels awful because he was hit by two bullets during the war. He already has many awards. We will visit him in hospital this weekend. And I екгдн believe that my amulet will help him recover faster, and he will return home really soon,” says Kateryna.
Rudnytske village was occupied for one month. Over 50 houses were destroyed or severely damaged during this period. The school was also shelled. The Russian military has used tanks and other weapons to attack it. Before retreating, the occupiers burned down the entire first floor, after they had looted all the equipment and some furniture.
“Before the full-scale war, 127 students and preschoolers attended our school. It was a modern school that had all sorts of equipment. In March 2022, the occupiers set up their headquarters on the ground floor and looted everything they could get their hands on. Now, children from Rudnytske go to school in the neighbouring village of Lukianivka. But in winter, they sometimes cannot get there because of the bad weather. When it snowed the other day, the children could not get to the neighbouring village. So, it’s wonderful that our children now have a hub where they can hang out, attend clubs and workshops, study and socialise,” said Anatolii Tupytsia, Principal of the Rudnytsia Secondary School branch.
The project to create the educational hub was completed in six months. First, the building of the local Community Centre was renovated. The roof had to be rebuilt because it was leaking, the floor had to be completely replaced, and the walls needed painting. The second stage of the project included the purchase of furniture and essential equipment, for which the team of the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation received financing from the ISAR Ednannia provided as part of the USAID’s Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity project.
Our Foundation has supported the community in this village for several years now. In 2021, we established a cultural workshop in Rudnytske. Once the village was liberated, we restored the houses of the locals. This autumn, we created a memoria park. We also realised that children need space where they can hang out and study. So, together with our partners, we organised one and provided it with furniture and essential equipment, including a screen, projector, printer, and laptop. Socialisation outside of school is particularly important for children. It reduces stress, helps them refocus on other activities, and provides opportunities for learning something new. Considering that these children will be rebuilding Ukraine in a few years, helping them now is an important mission undertaken by our Foundation,” stressed Oleksandr Pakholiuk, Head of Social Investment and Partnerships Department at the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation.
For the next six months, benefactors will continue to support educational programming and training courses offered at the hub. For instance, the State Emergency Service of Ukraine has scheduled a master class on mine safety and workshops on stress resistance for the upcoming week.
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The education hub in the Rudnytske village of the Kyiv Oblast was established by the MHP-Gromadi Charitable Foundation with the support of the ISAR Ednannia provided within the scope of the Ukraine Civil Society Sectoral Support Activity implemented by the ISAR Ednannia in cooperation with the Ukrainian Centre of Independent Political Research (UCIPR) and the Centre for Democracy and Rule of Law (CEDEM) thanks to the generous support of the American people provided through the United States Agency for International Development.
MHP-Gromadiis a Ukrainian charitable foundation that has been actively involved in restoring and developing Ukrainian communities since 2015. The Foundation helps residents of small towns and villages build partnerships with public authorities and businesses. The Foundation operates in 13 Oblasts of Ukraine and has a presence in over 700 cities and towns. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, it has been providing regular aid to those who need it most: defenders, rescuers, IDPs, children, and the elderly. The Foundation supports small businesses and implements joint development, educational, medical, infrastructure, and cultural projects in cooperation with international and Ukrainian donors.
