The EU is funding an 18-month project with the savED Charitable Foundation to restore safe access to in-person learning for children in communities across Ukraine’s Mykolaiv and Sumy regions, running from summer 2026 to the end of 2027.
The initiative has a budget of €2 million under the Ukraine Facility, an EU funding programme for Ukraine, the European External Action Service (EEAS) announced on Thursday.
In Mykolaiv, the project includes building two Education Recovery Centres, while in Sumy it will renovate and fully equip a shelter so a local school can resume in-person or blended learning under safety standards.
Two cycles of “learning loss recovery” programmes are due to run in 2027 across the new educational spaces, the renovated shelter and 40 schools in Mykolaiv region.
Henrik Huitfeldt, Head of Section for Public Finance, Business Support, and Social Policies at the EU Delegation to Ukraine, said the funding would support efforts to restore “safe, high-quality, in-person education” for children in frontline communities.
He cited school destruction and security risks linked to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
Catch-up lessons and safe spaces
The catch-up programme will cover Ukrainian language, mathematics, English, history of Ukraine and primary school subjects, with children taught in small groups and assessed using diagnostic tools and final monitoring assessments, according to the statement.
The upgraded spaces and the shelter are intended to allow schooling to continue during air raid alerts.
Anna Novosad, co-founder of the savED Charitable Foundation, said the organisation had signed an agreement with the European Commission for funding under the Ukraine Facility programme.
