Solutions to win: Kyiv volunteers sent 300 stationery sets to schoolchildren from eastern frontline region

As Ukraine's new school year took off on September 1, the "Poruch (Together)" NGO volunteers initiated a humanitarian mission for children in eastern Ukraine.

The volunteer union was collecting stationery in August, calling the campaign "Backpack of Kindness." Everyone could join in and help children from the war zone feel that they are remembered and cared for.

What is the problem?

The volunteers are convinced that despite the war, children have the right to receive education even in frontline settlements. The group sees how many children currently live in the towns and villages of the Donetsk region and how they are waiting for all sorts of pleasures.

What is the solution?

In addition to sending the children school kits, we decided to start art therapy for them. Everyone got to know each other, then we did an exercise and made plasticine amulets together, said Rusana Sharlay, head of the NGO.

People in the frontline settlements live in constant anxiety and hear the constant sounds of explosions. Every minute, a shell can kill loved ones or destroy homes. Some parents did not even allow their children to come to the event for safety reasons.

We said that children are our future, as they will be the ones to build a new Ukraine. We also wished them to study despite troubles, so that nothing would prevent them from developing and gaining new knowledge, the volunteer said.

How does it work?

In just two days, the team visited five settlements in the Donetsk region: Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, Kramatorsk, Druzhkivka, and Rodynske, and gave 300 school kits to children.

Sharlai said that a total of 450 stationery sets were collected during the charity event: 150 other kits be sent to children in Kherson.