The works in the Yalynka kindergarten are completed!

Volunteers of the B50 community have renovated another shelter! From now on, the pupils of the Yalynka preschool in Mykulychi, Kyiv region, have a safe and comfortable place to not only wait out the air raid, but also to study, play and communicate with their peers.

It should be reminded that the location of B50 works in the bomb shelter of the Mykulychi kindergarten ‘Yalynka’ consisted of a large hall and a supporting room. It was in the large hall that preschool groups and temporarily pupils of the local school were staying during the danger. The Yalynka kindergarten had already taken care of the arrangement of the large hall – the main repairs were carried out there, but this space was not enough. Therefore, the Reconstruction team worked on expanding the shelter for preschoolers, turning one of the technical rooms into an additional sleeping area.

Doors were installed in the large hall, which improved the thermal insulation of the room, and zonal batteries. In the underground bedroom, the main renovation work was carried out first: the walls and ceiling were renovated, ventilation and heating batteries were installed, new lighting was installed, and the entrance door was replaced. After that, there was very little left to do – to finish the floor, decorate the walls and arrange the space.

The repair of this shelter was made possible thanks to a charitable contribution from the Förderkreis Mahnmal St. Nikolai e.V. (St. Nicholas Memorial in Hamburg).

We received further funding for this project thanks to the Create a World of Play and Childhood initiative, launched by the Irish NGO ChangeX with the support of the LEGO Foundation. Before that,ChangeX helped us renovate a shelter in the village of Zavorichi. The B50 team applied for, fulfilled all the requirements of the programme and received funding to renovate another shelter. Thanks to the grant, we purchased the necessary materials and paints for repair and decoration, and most importantly, for the arrangement of a bedroom.

Thanks to this grant, we were able to purchase everything we needed to turn the shelter in Mykulychi into a real children’s space – comfortable, safe and filled with warmth. Here, children could rest, play, learn, develop and not feel constantly anxious about air threats.

We managed to buy cribs and bedding needed for the future bedroom, flooring, toys and books.

While the Reconstruction team was renovating the bedroom, the volunteers of the Shelters project decorated the large hall. Three walls were chosen for the mural at once – under them are children’s beds.

The general theme for the shelter is the world of children’s dreams and fantasies. After all, every child has the right to dream – even in a shelter when sirens are sounding around them because of the threat of drone or missile attacks. This is how the Dreamland appeared in the hall, and in the bedroom.

specifically for the Shelters project. The author of the mural in the large hall was our volunteer Vika, and the mural around the bedroom perimeter was created by Alina, a graduate of the Ampli teen academy. They coped with the tasks perfectly and created designs that the volunteers and project coordinator Polina transferred to the walls incredibly quickly!

After the completion of the murals, the only thing left to do was to equip the new underground bedroom with bright floor mats and bunk beds with new bedding.

The bedroom is now filled with new toys, children’s books and a delicate nightlight so that the kids can rest here during long air raids.

In conclusion, we would like to sincerely thank everyone who contributed to the renovation of this children’s shelter. Each pair of hands and each hour of work became a part of a great common cause.

We thank the volunteers who responded to the call for help, the talented designers who gave the walls a new life, and the administration of the institution for their support and faith in our idea. Special thanks to our sponsors and donors: it is thanks to your generosity that we were able to create a safe, warm and friendly space for children, where they can feel cared for and hopeful even in the most anxious moments.