Help Ukraine’s Children Learn in Safety: Support the Frontline Schools Appeal
Every morning in the frontline cities of Pavlohrad and Kryvyi Rih, children walk through the school gates and head straight underground. At Pavlohrad Gymnasium No. 11, lessons take place in a basement with no windows, no natural light, and barely enough space for two classes squeezed into one bunker‑room. The children have painted the concrete walls with flowers, bees and emojis; bright colours trying, and failing, to soften the reality of growing up under bombardment.
These pupils do not choose to learn in darkness. They do so because their cities face near‑daily drone and missile attacks, and the basement is the only place where lessons can continue without fear of shrapnel or collapsing roofs. Some schools in the region have already been destroyed. Others stand with shattered windows, cracked walls and playgrounds scarred by explosions.
When the Ukraine Solidarity Campaign visited Donbas in February 2026, we were welcomed by students who had not seen foreign visitors since the full‑scale invasion began. They were lively, curious, determined children desperate for the normal childhood that war has stolen from them. They want to learn, to play, to dream. But they cannot do it alone.
Many of the children are refugees driven from their homes in Donbas by Russian advances and intense bombing.
If you can, please support our urgent aid appeal to support frontline schools in Pavlohrad and Kryvyi Rih. Your donation can help provide the essential tools children need to keep learning safely, during air raids.
What your support can deliver:
- Laptops, computers, whiteboards and interactive boards so lessons can continue in the shelter
- Sports equipment like basketballs, volleyballs and outdoor toys to help children stay active and healthy
- Educational games and creative kits for primary pupils learning in cramped underground rooms
- English books and literature to broaden horizons and open future opportunities
- Toys, puzzles and craft sets to bring moments of joy to children who spend hours in bunkers
- Energy‑saving, blast proof windows for Kryvyi Rih Gymnasium 34’s library, where nine shattered frames must be replaced to keep children warm and safe this winter
The miners’ and teachers' unions in Kryvyi Rih and Pavlohrad have appealed for help. They are doing everything they can but the need is far greater than local communities can meet alone.
Children in the Donbas dream of peaceful skies. They dream of classrooms filled with light, not sirens. With your support, we can help them stay in school, continue learning, and hold onto hope.
Please donate today to help the children of war. Stand with Ukraine’s children. Help them learn, grow and build the future they deserve.
How to donate
Use reference: SchoolsAid.
Account name: Ukraine Solidarity Campaign, Co-operative Bank, sort code: 08-92-99, account number: 65440841