In the Kharkiv region, children in the Malynivka community have been studying remotely for several years. School corridors have long fallen silent, with the familiar sounds of children during recess replaced by empty classrooms. Spending time with friends after school has become the exception rather than a normal part of childhood. Yet today, there is a place where children can once again learn, play, and simply be together.
That place is the EduHive Educational Center, established by the savED Foundation in a shelter at the local kindergarten. Here, children take part in catch-up learning sessions, creative workshops, and group activities. Just as importantly, they have a safe space to meet friends, communicate, and experience the everyday moments of childhood that many have missed throughout the years of the full-scale war.
The story of EduHive began with an initiative from the community itself. After meeting the savED team, Serhii Belov, Head of the Department of Education, Culture, Sports, and Youth of the Malynivka community, proposed creating a similar educational space for local children. That idea became a reality, and today EduHive has grown into a place where children can continue learning, build friendships, and create new memories despite the challenges of war.
Since opening, the EduHive Educational Center has welcomed more than 150 children. They come here to catch up on learning, prepare for the National Multi-Subject Test (NMT), take part in clubs and creative activities, meet new friends, and simply spend time together. Over time, however, it became clear that the existing space could no longer meet the community’s growing needs.
That is why the savED Foundation has launched the “Let’s Create Childhood Despite Everything” campaign and is raising UAH 3.4 million to expand the underground educational space.
The campaign is supported by a number of Ukrainian public figures, including Daniela Zayushkina, frontwoman of the band Vivienne Mort; Dmytro Zezyulin of LATEXFAUNA; Yuliia Tymoshenko, Chair of Ukraїner; and 12-year-old singer NICOLE. In the campaign video, they reflect on their own childhood memories and explain why in-person learning is about much more than lessons. For many children, school is where they make their first friends, discover new interests, dream about the future, and develop a sense of belonging.
Adjacent to the current EduHive is an additional 110-square-metre section of the shelter that will be renovated as part of the project. The expanded space will include a new classroom for educational activities, a sports area for physical exercise and training, and improved infrastructure with modern ventilation and heating systems to ensure comfortable year-round use.
Once completed, the expanded EduHive will be able to accommodate more than 80 children at a time. For approximately 675 school-aged children in the Malynivka community, this will mean greater access to safe, in-person learning, opportunities to explore new interests, and a place where they can build friendships and spend time together.
As another school year comes to an end, many of us look back on our own childhood memories—friends sharing a desk, favourite teachers, school celebrations, first dreams, and moments that shaped who we became. We want the children of Malynivka to have those memories too.
Because even in times of war, childhood should not be put on hold.
Support the campaign and help us create more space for learning, friendship, and childhood in the Malynivka community.
