UNICEF distributes learning kits for distance learning in Ukraine

The last time nine-year-old Daryna and sixteen-year-old Anton went to school was the day before the Ukraine war escalated. The violence took its toll – windows and doors were blown apart by shelling, and the roof fell in. As the months went by, mould crept over the walls.

For more than two years, the siblings were forced to study online. That is why the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) stepped in to supply home learning kits, providing children like Daryna and Anton with desk lamps, stationery, power banks and more.

Three schools and a kindergarten in Shevchenkove, a frontline village in the Mykolaivska region, were completely destroyed by the fighting.

"I still have a calendar in my office with the date of 23 February 2022 open,” says Olha, the director of one of the schools. “This is the last day when children came to the lyceum. The children's clothes have been hanging in the school since that day, and no one has come to get them.”

Today, although Daryna and Anton’s school's roof has been repaired and the windows have been replaced, students are still unable to return to their classrooms. The building still requires internal repairs and lacks electricity or heating.

While the children use the internet to continue their studies, home learning kits supplied by UNICEF, with the support of the European Union and the German National Committee, are making a big difference to those in grades 1-11.

The kits include essential items such as a tabletop LED lamp, a power bank, a flashlight, a Thermos flask, stationery, a stand for a textbook or tablet and a reflective vest. So far, UNICEF has distributed a total of 8,800 kits to school children in the Zaporizhska, Kharkivska, Odeska, Mykolaivska, and Khersonska regions, ensuring they have the necessary equipment to access online education, which continues to be disrupted by the ongoing war. The village of Shevchenkove experiences power and internet outages, especially during attacks.

“Older children get used to online education, while younger kids face some challenges,” says Olha, who has found herself having to hide in a basement for 12 hours in a row until the shelling stops. “Nevertheless, everyone wants to return to school." 

Daryna studies in fourth grade and dreams of becoming a dance teacher. She studies with the help of her smartphone, taking photos of her homework and sending them to her teacher.

"Sometimes the internet goes down,” says the youngster. “It can happen twice a week. Sometimes, in the middle of a lesson, the phone runs out of power.”

Her brother Anton studies in tenth grade. Most of his classmates have left the village.

"I don't know what I want to be because I can't plan,” he says. “I don't know what will happen tomorrow and where I will be. The last time I went to school was in the eighth grade, two years ago, so I don't know what I want to do – I'm still an eighth grader in my heart.”

"The children got used to in-person communication, teachers, lessons, breaks and activities,” says Maryna, Anton and Daryna’s mother. “Then came COVID-19, then the war. When they went to school, they had good results, desire and motivation. Now they have none of that.”

After one of the numerous attacks on the Mykolaivska region, Maryna and her children fled to Poland for seven months. While they were gone, shelling damaged their home in Shevchenkove – the roof was torn off, the windows were smashed and the house partially flooded.

“When we returned, our hopes were dashed,” Maryna recalls. “We didn't want to do anything. We didn't even unpack our suitcases and kept to one room. Step by step, we started to put everything in order, but there is still fear –  no one knows what tomorrow will bring.”