The appeal for generators came in response to Russia's attack on vital infrastructure which had left nurseries and early years settings in Lviv and across Ukraine without heating, lighting or electricity.
This led to many settings being forced to send children home during blackouts as they could not provide basic requirements for them.
Prior to the donations, Oksana Rosypska, the director of Malyuk, a state kindergarten and primary school in Lviv, visited by Nursery World in June, only had a small 3kw generator which was just enough to power the lights and a small charging station, forcing her to close the nursery.
Other nurseries, such as Ptashenya Kindergardens in Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, were able to stay open but without heating and power, with more learning taking place outdoors. Parents were also encouraged to collect children early to avoid plummeting temperatures after sun-down.
Nursery World put out a call to readers in December to support UK to Ukraine to help early years settings in the UK fund generators for Ukrainian kindergartens and early years settings.
Since then, 319 generators have been delivered by StaysafeUA, a humanitarian organisation that works with UK to Ukraine to distribute the generators on the ground, and another 80 are planned to be delivered by the end of March.
Malyuk received a 7.5kw generator earlier this month, which was delivered by Maddy MacKenzie from StaysafeUA, who told Nursery World, ‘providing a generator for these children's shelter will allow them to keep their lights on and cook food while they are sheltering from the threat of bombs. This brings more than just the tangible items, it reduces fear and brings some normalcy and hope during these awful times.'
Mackenzie met Rosypska in person (below), when handing over the generator, meeting at the warehouse to bring it back to Malyuk.
This generator will now mean that Malyuk can remain open as it is able to offer sufficient heating, light and electricity.
Caragh Booth, co-founder of UK to Ukraine (below), said ‘from a child’s perspective, being able to continue to learn and see their friends gives them a sense of normality. Generators play a vital role in allowing this to happen. A frozen child with a wailing siren entering an underground shelter with no light is terrifying and something these children experience daily’.
Providing energy to these early years settings will dramatically improve the wellbeing of children and staff but challenges still loom, and the war enters a new phase with the evacuation of Bakhmut.
UK to Ukraine will continue to work closely with StaysafeUA to provide supplies and support for areas of need, as well as setting up accommodation centers in Eastern Ukraine.
It is also focused on extending ‘Victory Gardens’, a project set up to provide seeds and tools to kindergartens to encourage children to grow vegetables, supplying food as well as promoting a ‘sense of pride’ for both children and parents.
- To support ‘Victory Gardens’, as well as other UK to Ukraine projects, providing vital supplies to Ukrainian settings, click here to donate.