International recognition: the case of the Shelter project is included in the Irish guide ChangeX

Do you remember the first shelter of the Shelter project in the Kozachok kindergarten (Bucha), which B50 volunteers started to transform a year ago?

The case of the transformation of this shelter was included in the guidebook of the Irish NGO ChangeX! It is used as a reference example of how to transform children’s shelters. All interested Ukrainian kindergartens can learn from our experience and replicate it themselves (by forming their own team, preparing a budget and submitting it to ChangeX for funding).

Currently, 29 candidate teams willing to change shelters are registered on the platform. They represent different regions of Ukraine: teams from Druzhkivka (Donetsk region), Bratslav (Vinnytsia region), Shramivka (Cherkasy region), Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro, etc. This is a great opportunity for kindergartens that should not be missed!

At B50, we are pleased that the work of the Shelter project team has been recognized by a global organization, and that our experience can be useful for preschools throughout Ukraine.

Here’s a look back at how it all started. In the summer of 2022, we were approached by the management of the Bucha Kozachok kindergarten with a request for help with the decoration of a 200-square-meter shelter. After inspecting the site, we prepared a work specification and cost estimate and launched a fundraising campaign to raise UAH 40,000 (approx. $1,080 / €1,010) to repair the shelter.

By the way, you can donate to the new shelter here 😊

Soon after, preparatory work began at Kozachok: first, B50 activists cleaned the walls and floors of dust and debris, filled the cracks with foam, and primed all surfaces. After that, thanks to partners from Farba Trade Professional LLC, they painted the walls and handed over the premises to B50 volunteer artists, who painted beautiful landscapes, delicate flowers, balloons, favorite cartoon characters, cute animals and sea creatures on the walls. The last step was to cover the floor with linoleum.

Thanks to the B50 volunteers’ minor repairs and transformation of the shelter, the Kozachok kindergarten has resumed its work! According to martial law rules, educational institutions can only operate if they have an equipped shelter for the safety of their pupils.

For more than a year now, kids in Bucha have been sitting out air raids in the bright play space we created, instead of in a dark, dusty basement. And B50 volunteers enjoyed helping to transform the shelters so much that they founded the Shelter project, which has already transformed basements at the Hornostaipil Lyceum (Vyshhorod district), Bohdanivka Lyceum (Brovary district), school No. 10 in Vorzel, school No. 147 in Kyiv. And now the Shelter team is working simultaneously at two locations at once – at the Nova Hreblia Gymnasium (Bucha district) and the Kolosochok kindergarten in Borodianka.