August 03, 2022

IT Training and Creative Hub: children are Ukraine’s future

I’d like to share some experiences from my visit to Lviv where we are giving security to children through the war. The positivity of our aid was a stark contrast to the air-raid alarms and the pain of families who had lost loved ones. Our Creative Hub, IT Training and services show that we can protect children’s education, as children are Ukraine’s future. (Article from Director Jasmine Lehnis)

Creative Hub

At our Creative Hub I was happy to see children enjoying activities in a space especially designed for them, in contrast to the multi-purpose and crowded hostels. From our experience with children, we know that helping them to deal with the emotions and stress now will make it easier for them to focus during lessons when school reopens. Different age groups come in for activities ranging from crafts, to therapy to dance throughout the week.

One day during an air-raid alarm a stressed mother came early for her child, and the girl didn’t want to go! The comfort of being with children her age and having space to play, even together in a basement during an alarm, was too precious to cut short.

IT Training

At IT Training the class was full, with young people taking notes in their handouts and raising their hands when the lecturer asked questions. As well as technical questions the speaker from the global company Intellias answered questions like “How much do you earn? What qualification do you have? How many people work in your company?”

30 young people enrolled from disadvantaged backgrounds and displaced families. The training module introduces IT roles and how to develop a career plan. Topics include Front-End, Back-End and Android Development, as well as other roles such as Sales, Marketing and HR. Intellias is a global technology company who has partnered with us to help young people into IT careers.

One speaker surprised the young people by saying he had learned IT skills on YouTube and then worked his way up to middle management. The speakers are role models and potential mentors: many of them are young and relate well to our group of 16 – 23 year olds. The IT industry is still offering excellent careers and it is inspiring to see young people both from Lviv and Eastern Ukraine building skills for the future.

Looking ahead

Children are the future of Ukraine who we need to protect, and they have been through so much with the disasters of Covid-19 and war. Their needs will remain at the forefront as we take on the next challenges:

  1. Protecting children: helping children who usually live in Ukraine’s institutions to live securely with families
  2. Integration of displaced people: helping families rebuild their lives and find school, work and housing
  3. Education and development: helping children recover from trauma, gain skills and build for their future

Our aid is getting directly to people who need it now, while working for children’s futures and increasing people’s ability to help themselves. If you want to know more, I’m happy to connect! Write to Jasmine at [email protected]

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