Inna Kyryk was appointed Principal of the Horbove Gymnasium (then still a lyceum) in the Chernihiv region on 25 February 2022. At that time, hostile Russian troops were advancing ever closer.

‘It was scary, with the Russians approaching, so our school shelter took in around 150 people, including many children from different localities. We brought in whatever we could find, such as old boards, doors, blankets and pillows, to make it as comfortable as possible,’ recalls Inna Kyryk.

At that time, the shelter was in a state of disrepair. Old and unwanted items had been stored here for years, and even frogs had made it their home. We sat in semi-darkness, but the heating under the school kept us warm.

‘Luckily, the Russians did not reach us. However, they were close to the neighbouring village of Baklanova Muraviika, where many of our pupils live. It is seven kilometres from here. Approximately 500 houses in the community have been completely destroyed,’ says the gymnasium principal.

When the enemy troops withdrew in April 2022, the teachers, led by the gymnasium principal, decided to repair the shelter themselves. They removed six trailers full of rubbish from the shelter. Teachers and their families brought their own transport and cleaned and whitewashed the walls. The settlement council provided funding to level the floor. However, this was not enough to enable the children to return to school.

‘The thing is, this is a radiation shelter. This is not a basement that can be easily repaired. It needed major repairs. It had to be a major project, requiring a lot of money and a complicated process. We knocked on the doors of many organisations and foundations, asking for help. Finally, we submitted an application to the school restoration initiative DECIDE: VIDBUDOVA, and our application was successful,’ explains Tetiana Sosimovych, First Deputy Head of the Kulykivka Settlement Council and Curator of Education.

In 2023, the Horbove Gymnasium became the first educational institution to start renovating a shelter of this standard for the safety of children.

‘Repairing the shelter at this school was of public importance to the community. This is because pupils from four surrounding localities study here. It is difficult to feel safe anywhere in Ukraine at the moment. However, thanks to the shelter, we can at least help children to feel safer. It also gives parents the opportunity to work and take care of their families, thus enabling them to contribute to the local economy without worrying about where their children are,’ emphasises Yuliia Posternak, Mayor of Kulykivka.

Read this article to find out what was achieved in the shelter, how the children won a mini-grant and set up their own space, and the reasons why modern shelters are needed.

The situation with shelters in the community and how local councillors responded to the request for co-financing

There are three educational institutions in the Kulykivka community. Shelters have been available at two of them since the outbreak of the full-scale invasion. Meanwhile, students at the Horbove Gymnasium had to study online for two years.

A total of more than 100 pupils study at the gymnasium. The shelter is designed to accommodate 150 people. If necessary, it can also be used by village residents.

‘We went through all the selection stages. We filled out the application form and wrote a motivation letter, and we also attended interviews. Ultimately, we were thrilled to discover that DECIDE would provide us with funding. We have been familiar with the Project since 2022, when we organised summer clubs for two years,’ says Svitlana Maslionka, Head of the Education Department at the Kulykivka Settlement Council.

The DECIDE project allocated UAH 2.2 million towards the repair of the shelter, while the village council contributed an additional UAH 3.8 million. Thus, the total budget amounted to over UAH 6 million.

‘There were no problems with the idea of co-financing. I am grateful to fate that there are so many reasonable and sensible people in our community, particularly among the council members. When it comes to the safety of children, nothing else matters. Almost UAH 4 million is a huge amount for our community because it does not just materialise out of thin air. It takes a lot of effort. But it is precisely such efforts that achieve global results,’ says Yuliia Posternak.

The funds from DECIDE were indeed helpful. However, the most valuable aspect was the full involvement of experts in the project: engineers and estimators accompanied contractors, monitored work quality, and provided assistance and advice.

‘We are grateful to have come this far with DECIDE. This is a people-driven project. It is a key partner of the Kulykivka community, and we always work together to achieve results. They do hear us, and I am sure that our ties will only grow stronger,’ says Yuliia Posternak.

The Deputy Head of the Kulykivka Settlement Council adds that the community lacked the qualified specialists needed to manage the process effectively.

Progress achieved in the school shelter

‘Of course, any leader who cares about their institution will be happy about any investment. But when I found out how much money was involved, it seemed unrealistic. I knew there would be difficulties and challenges, and that I would have to learn a lot and take control of the process. I had no experience in this area. However, I was motivated. I wanted the children not to sit in semi-darkness; I wanted everyone to have a comfortable place to study. I wanted them to be able to study offline. Now we have all of this,’ says Inna Kyryk.

During the repairs, children and parents showed a keen interest in what was happening, asking for tours and information about the plans. They were all allowed to do this.

‘The parents were eagerly awaiting the shelter. There were periods when they came regularly and nothing changed. No change today, no change tomorrow – and then they brought doors and installed them between the hubs and in the toilets. Now there is a striking difference in how it looks. We rejoiced at every such success, at every change,’ recalls the principal of the gymnasium.

 

During repairs

 

No doubt, there were some challenges. According to Tetiana Sosimovych, when the floor was removed, it became clear that a complete replacement was necessary. The slabs had to be removed, broken up, and poured again. This was not part of the original plan, so adjustments had to be made, and the process naturally took longer than expected.

All of the communication systems in the shelter were replaced. There are now electric heaters, and heating comes from the boiler room.

There are three large hubs in the shelter. During an air raid, students in the fifth and ninth grades are located in the largest one. The rest of the pupils are in the two smaller spaces.

Schoolchildren in the shelter

 

Each hub has individual learning spaces with desks and chairs for each child, as well as laptops and tablets. There are also sofas for leisure time or for waiting for the school bus. Facilities include whiteboards, regular toilets, toilets for people with disabilities, a lift and a shower.

‘This part of the shelter is completely different from the unrenovated part. When you go in there, you can hardly believe that the new space used to be like that, too. Of course, there is something to compare it to,’ says Inna Kyryk.

Schoolchildren in the shelter

 

Overall, the major renovation of the shelter took more than a year.

Results achieved within the mini-grant for children

As part of the DECIDE project, a mini-grant of UAH 50,000 was also awarded to pupils.

First, the Project experts taught the pupils how to develop project ideas. The children then presented their projects and a real vote was held among the local residents. The aim was to encourage the pupils to fill the space in the shelter and make it feel more comfortable and ‘their own’.

‘The children gained practical experience during their studies. They learned how to take an idea from conception to practical implementation. They learnt how to formulate and ask questions correctly, present ideas, organise debates, calculate costs, find equipment, present projects, campaign for them and organise and participate in voting, just like in a real election. The pupils who wrote these projects have already left school, but they were happy to see the results of their work,’ says Nataliia Borysova, Deputy Principal for Educational Work.

 

During the vote

 

Three groups of schoolchildren each prepared a project. All of these were related to self-development. These included a mini-cinema and a space for developmental activities.

 

During training with DECIDE experts

 

The winning third project is the video studio ‘Your Oscar’. It is a space where high-quality video content can be filmed. It has special interchangeable backgrounds, microphones, a camera, high-quality sound equipment and lighting.

‘Everyone is interested in this space because children use TikTok and Instagram to create Reels. In addition, they will learn media literacy through it. We will teach them how to create and consume content,’ says Nataliia Borysova.

 

‘Your Oscar’

 

The project that came second in the vote, just two votes behind the winner, was supported by the community. As a result, the shelter now has a fitness area.

Why it is important to have a modern shelter

‘Our shelter has been renovated to meet all standards, allowing for uninterrupted education. This is very important because our children have been studying online for a long time, ever since the start of the pandemic and throughout the full-scale invasion. Here, we are able to provide a complete education, which is undoubtedly beneficial for the students,’ says Svitlana Maslionka.

Inna Kyryk explains that when children enter the shelter, light sensors detect the movement and the lights turn on. This has become a ray of light, both literally and figuratively, for pupils and teachers alike. After all, everyone remembers having to sit in darkness at the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

‘From a practical point of view, it is extremely convenient. Teachers no longer have to run ahead of everyone, worrying that a child might fall, get hurt or bump into something. In addition, air raid sirens can be very long indeed. Children are also unlikely to sit in a poorly ventilated space for long periods of time. Sitting on a hard bench for several hours is uncomfortable, but sitting on a soft rug or in an armchair is much more pleasant. Sometimes a child wants to lie down, and they should be allowed to do so. Moreover, the space is divided, so you can focus on your teacher rather than the other students and several teachers around you,’ says the principal.

Besides, now teachers and students have a place to wait for the bus.

‘Our children deserve better. It is therefore crucial that shelters have modern conditions, rather than just any conditions. I am glad that DECIDE and I have managed to achieve this. I always say that small villages are mostly populated by people destined to give birth to city dwellers. It is important to give children the opportunity to experience the best that life has to offer. That way, when they leave school and embark on the path to adulthood, they will not settle for less,’ adds Yuliia Posternak.

Inna Kyryk believes that one day, the shelter will become an additional space where schoolchildren will gladly come to shoot video content, do fitness training, or hold school self-government meetings, if they wish.

‘Children are currently under tremendous stress. Their psychological and mental health is at risk. Now more than ever, they need to feel safe. Modern shelters provide this feeling. Only when they feel safe can children focus on learning. It is our duty to help them,’ says Tetiana Sosimovych.

By Mariia Buleiko (Markovska)