In the spring of 2022, a school in Novyi Bykiv, Chernihiv region, faced the imminent danger of shelling, being positioned on the front line. The continuous barrage of explosions in the vicinity of the school led to direct impacts on the building, causing significant damage to its roof, walls, classrooms, and corridors.
U-LEAD with Europe, supported by the European Commission's FPI Service and in collaboration with the "Brave" Charitable Foundation, undertook the restoration of the affected areas, encompassing various elements:
- Two classrooms underwent comprehensive refurbishment, including the replacement of wiring and lighting, as well as the renovation of floors, ceilings, and walls.
- The entrance and central hall received attention with the renewal of wiring, lighting, walls, and ceilings, along with the restoration of marble flooring.
- The primary school corridor saw improvements through the replacement of lighting and wiring, and the restoration of decorative wall paneling and classroom doors.
- Two high school corridors experienced enhancements such as the replacement of classroom doors with glass ones, and the renovation of floors, walls, ceilings, wiring, and lighting.
- Staircases and landings were transformed with the installation of panoramic windows and new railings, coupled with the renovation of walls, ceilings, wiring, lighting, staircases, and flooring.
The restoration efforts were executed by a dedicated team comprising professional builders and volunteers.
Consequently, the school in Novyi Bykiv has successfully resumed its educational activities, and students are delighted to engage in learning within the reconstructed classrooms.
As we have reported, in recognition of the huge challenges in the education sector of municipalities during the war, the European Commission’s Service for Foreign Policy Instrument (FPI) has provided U-LEAD with Europe with additional resources – over 5 million EUR – to reconstruct 12 schools in Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions (implemented by CF "Brave") and build 25 Digital Learning Centres in Mykolaiv, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Kyiv regions (implemented by CF "savED"), in addition to a number of other capacity building activities, such as advising, consultations and trainings to create a safe and supportive environment for children to learn (implemented by the Centre for Innovative Education "ProSvit").