Light and warmth for Waldorf Schools in the Ukraine
The people of Ukraine are experiencing a winter full of uncertainty, energy supply disruptions, and ongoing attacks. Schools are struggling with broken heating systems, days-long power cuts and the challenge of providing education under extreme conditions. Despite this difficult situation, teachers at Waldorf schools continue to work tirelessly to provide children and young people with a safe place to learn. Thanks to a spontaneous and generous donation, we were able to provide financial support to the schools in this challenging situation. The following reports from several Waldorf schools and therapeutic educational institutions in Ukraine show how urgently this and other aid is needed and what an uplifting effect every donation has.
A warm safe haven for children and young people with disabilities
The Sonnenhof Special Education Facility in Kyiv has been caring for children and young people with varying degrees of disability since 2004. Galyna Yakymovich shares her impressions:
Our situation has worsened dramatically. Radiators have burst, some rooms are freezing cold, and only a few rooms can still be heated to a small extent. Many families are living without heating or electricity. However, thanks to your help, we have been able to take the first steps towards moving some of the people we care for into a house with an independent heating source. Despite the cold and darkness, I also experience moments of hope – for example, when I saw children playing in the snow. These small rays of hope give us the strength to carry on, even when explosions can be heard in the morning.
Learning under extreme conditions
The Sophia Waldorf School in Kiev has been operating continuously for four years – despite regular air raid sirens. Serhiy Zabolotnyi reports on the particular challenges they are currently facing:
We face new challenges every day. After the Christmas holidays, we were barely able to resume teaching: temperatures in the classrooms range from 11 to 13 degrees. Younger classes have shortened lessons, while older students learn online. However, online lessons are very difficult to conduct, as many households only have a few hours of electricity per day. Nevertheless, we are doing our best to provide our students with a stable learning environment. Your support helps us to continue on this path.
Power cuts, frost, but still optimistic
The Shkola Pokuttia in Horodenka, in the west, became a refuge for many internally displaced persons from the more heavily contested east of Ukraine. But even here, the effects of the ongoing attacks are becoming increasingly apparent, as Olga Shtefan reports:
Your message about your financial support moved us to tears. We struggle daily with power outages of up to 15 hours, while temperatures drop to 10 to 15 degrees below freezing. Many heating systems are dependent on electricity, and without additional solutions, it becomes dangerously cold. Thanks to your help, we can consider alternatives such as an EcoFlow and proceed with our solar project. You give us hope and the strength to fulfil our educational mission during these difficult times.
Gratitude in the midst of stress
Due to its location in eastern Ukraine, the Waldorf School in Dnipro has been particularly affected by the conflict for the past four years. In an email, Headmistress Olga Perederij expressed her gratitude for the donations they received through the Friends of Waldorf Education:
Your support means the world to us. In these difficult times, it is important to know that we are not alone. This sense of togetherness gives us the strength to continue teaching and providing stability for our children. Your compassion strengthens our entire school community and reminds us that solidarity can transcend even great distances.
School life continues despite alarms and cancellations
Since summer 2022, all schools in Ukraine have only been allowed to operate if they have protective shelters. This also applies to the Stupeni Waldorf School in Odessa. An email from Natalia Lukyanchenko makes it clear how often these shelters have to be used:
We were very grateful for your support. Without it, we would not have been able to pay salaries in December. Our daily life continues to be marked by air raid sirens, long power cuts, and nights spent in the bunker. Nevertheless, we celebrate festivals, put on plays and keep our school routine active. During the Christmas season, we had to celebrate some of these festivals in our shelter. Your help enables us to be there for the children and to live in community despite the most adverse circumstances.
Teaching and learning despite darkness and cold
We were also able to help the Waldorf Gymnasium in Kryvyi Rih with the expansion of its shelters, among other things. Headmistress Marina Fecschtschukova expresses her gratitude for this and other assistance:
We write to you with a feeling of deep gratitude and hope. For us, the construction of the shelters means much more than just walls – it is a protection for our future. This, the fourth winter of war is exceptionally cold, and constant attacks on the power grid leave us without light and heat time and again. But our everyday school life does not come to a standstill: our children miss their friends, their teachers and learning together so much that lessons continue even in the dark and cold. Their zest for life gives us the strength not to give up. At the same time, however, our teachers are under great financial pressure: they receive only about half the usual salary in Kryvyi Rih – too little to cover the sharp rise in the cost of living. With your help, we can pay them a little more. Every bit of support is vital for our 24 colleagues. Your help enables us to continue to bring light, warmth, and education to our children despite all the power cuts. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
A generator as a sign of warmth
Thanks to a short-term donation, the ASTR Waldorf School in Odessa was able to purchase a power generator – a great relief for the school community, as Aleksandr Chernis explains:
We are infinitely grateful for your help. Thanks to your support, we were able to purchase a generator that provides our children with light, warmth, and a sense of peace. At a time when many would otherwise be sitting at home in the dark, our pupils can now learn in warm rooms again. Your help shows us that we have not been forgotten – and that means everything to us.
Your donation makes a difference!
Since March 2022, thanks to your donations, we have been able to help Waldorf schools and therapeutic educational institutions continue their work. We have been able to finance part of the teachers' salaries and help expand the necessary shelters. Four years after the start of Russia's large-scale invasion, the donations have been depleted, while the situation remains critical and is currently coming to a head. Every donation – large or small – helps to provide warmth, light, education and hope. Together, we can continue to ensure that children and families are not left alone in these difficult times. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support.