Before the full-scale invasion, this educational institution was a real pride of the community: newly renovated premises and a canteen; classrooms with modern interactive equipment; laptops for almost all teachers; and printers (including 3D). More than 350 children were educated here.

During almost a month of complete occupation of the village (and several weeks of the invaders’ residence in the lyceum), russians mercilessly destroyed almost all computer and multimedia equipment, furniture (most classrooms lost about 70% of their educational and material base!), stole a brand-new school bus, and mined the premises.

The shock wave from enemy air bombs smashed almost all the windows and doors. The majority of the school’s teaching staff remained in Boromlia during the occupation. Therefore, immediately after the village was liberated on March 26, 2022, the lyceum staff, together with concerned community members, began to clean up the consequences of the occupation, and in early April, they resumed classes (remotely).

Despite its beautiful name, Myrnohrad (“city of peace”) is not a peaceful city, as it is located near the frontline and, during the full-scale invasion, was repeatedly attacked by enemy forces and hosted many IDPs and military personnel.

By February 24, 2023, School No. 10 had been attended by 735 children! Currently, 634 students are studying remotely.

The school’s library collection includes 24,317 books. The number of books is impressive, but the quality, unfortunately, is not: about 40% are in russian. In addition, there is an acute shortage of modern fiction for children of all ages and specialized literature in Ukrainian.

The Krasnokutsk community of Kharkiv region is one of those where the situation is relatively calm (very relatively calm, because there are no safe places in Ukraine at the moment). There was no occupation and no fighting here, so a lot of IDPs came here (last spring, they were evacuated from Kharkiv by school buses, often under fire). In September 2022, 18,000 IDPs lived in the Krasnokutsk community (for comparison, the local population was 26,700). Helping IDPs and supporting the Armed Forces of Ukraine are currently the main tasks of the residents of the Krasnokutsk community.

The lyceum’s library has 6,500 copies of the local collection, most of which are in russian. The collection is outdated and worn out.

At the same time, local children (mostly primary and secondary school students) love to read. They are especially interested in comics, adventures, and fairy tales. There is a lack of modern fiction for children and works from the school curriculum.

Therefore, 50 books from B50 will qualitatively complement the local library, help local children better understand the world and themselves, and make their lives more interesting.

At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the russians passed through Kholmy. The settlement was actually under siege, but fortunately, it did not suffer the destruction and horrors of the occupation. Currently, the village is hosting IDPs and trying to live a normal life as much as possible in wartime.

The staff of the Kholmy School Library creates conditions for interesting activities and the development of local children. For example, they organize “Open Air Readings,” where children get acquainted with new books, socialize, and play outdoor games.

The school staff also actively replenishes the library collection, as local youth really love to read.

Kyselivka School was built in the 80s of the nineteenth century (the exact date could not be established). At first, education was conducted in Polish. The school switched to Ukrainian in 1937.

Before russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 124 students attended the Lyceum.

During the occupation, the educational institution was an enemy base (with the corresponding devastating consequences: no windows and doors; some walls were completely destroyed; equipment was stolen). The library of the Lyceum had 7,109 books (exclusively in Ukrainian!). Of these, 2,479 were textbooks. Currently, 20% of the collection is missing.

According to the Lyceum director, local children are interested in reading. They are most interested in the works of modern writers.

The village of Ivankiv was one of the first to be occupied by the enemy. There was everything that russians love so much: shelling, occupation, killing of civilians, looting, burning of the historical and local history museum, which housed a collection of paintings by Mariia Prymachenko.

The Ivankiv library also experienced the horrors of the war: the roof of the building was damaged, and many books in the storage were “caught” by bullets. Nevertheless, the institution continues to develop, hold various educational events and support Ukrainians.

The library was selected from among the applications by Melexis-Ukraine employees who had been working with B50 as part of corporate volunteering. B50 gave the company our list of developmental literature. Employees chose books from the list, bought them and brought them to the office. At the same time, they opened a Monobank account so that people could simply donate to purchase literature.

They chose the library because they wanted to support an institution from their region and replenish the library’s collection, which had suffered from the occupation.

The village of Shandryholove in the Donetsk region is a typical settlement liberated from the russians: smashed machinery, shell craters, ruins and ashes, not a single surviving house, destroyed kindergarten, school, workshop, club, library… From May to September 2022, the village was under russian occupation. On September 27, as part of the battles for Lyman, it was liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But the front is still close (25 km).

Since the local school was destroyed, the 16 children who remained in the village are taught by a Ukrainian language and literature teacher at home. The village library was also destroyed: before the full-scale invasion, it had 9,238 books, and now it has only 337 books donated by caring readers. Now it operates in the format of a “library in a backpack”. Therefore, the book collection needs to be replenished, especially with children’s and informational literature. That is why 50 modern Ukrainian-language books from B50 will be a very tangible and useful gift for children from the village of Shandryholove.

This library is one of the best branches of the Bashtanka Public Library. It plays an important role in the socio-cultural life of the entire community, popularizing reading among its residents and fostering reading culture among young people. There is a hobby club called “Ridnokrai” (“‘Homeland’), which explores the history of their small homeland and studies its literary and artistic life.

In early March 2022, Khrystoforivka came under occupation, and the russian military occupied the Museum of the village’s history, which housed the library. They created a mess here (as they did everywhere else they could reach): they kicked in doors, broke locks, damaged windows and furniture (they used it to build barricades), completely destroyed 200 books (including many patriotic publications) and readers’ forms (they burned them while cooking), and left behind a pile of garbage and dirt.

Despite the burning of many books, the library’s collection now includes 12,205 copies, including 10,151 in Ukrainian. Local children like to read science fiction, adventure literature, informative books about animals, plants, and the creation of the world, and younger children like fairy tales.

The library is in need of a significant upgrade of its collection, as the books that are physically and morally outdated are unable to meet the needs of modern users. Therefore, receiving a set of books from B50 is extremely important and valuable for the Khrystoforivka library.

The town of Bilopillia is located 10 kilometers from russia, so it is not surprising that the enemy is constantly shelling it with everything they can (once there were 170 explosions in the Bilopillia community in a week!). But life goes on, and so does school.

Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 5, where 114 children currently study, has suffered significant damage: the dining room building was destroyed by a direct hit from a Shahid drone, almost all the windows in the primary school and dormitory building were blown out, and all the windows in the library were smashed. The library was moved and set up in another building.

The issue of the premises has been resolved, but there is a problem with updating the library collection. The interest in reading among the students of the Gymnasium is very high. They are interested in historical topics, natural sciences, and students in grades 1-4 like to read fairy tales, which, unfortunately, are almost non-existent here. There is also a lack of literature by contemporary writers (Ukrainian and foreign).

The Gymnasium has many children from underprivileged backgrounds who need special support. Thanks to the new books, these children will plunge into the world of adventures, learn something new and interesting, and at least for a while forget about the war. So the set from B50 will be a great gift for the students of Bilopillia Gymnasium No. 5.

Ripky, 25 kilometers from the border with Belarus, is home to real heroes – ordinary villagers who, without any weapons or military experience (!), managed to defend their home from the invaders. On the 8th day of the full-scale war, russian troops arrived here. The first small enemy convoy was stopped at the cost of one dead and one wounded, and the second was stopped by a peaceful rally and negotiations, during which the community leadership managed to negotiate with the invaders to leave Ripky. Then the locals learned to coexist with the russians, who set up a checkpoint outside the village and decided which vehicles to let through and which not, supported each other and did not lower the Ukrainian flags (yellow and blue flags were permanently hanging over all administrative buildings).

Currently, 504 children study at the Ripky Lyceum (many are brought here from 19 (!) neighboring villages) and, despite the war, life is in full swing: competitions, various themed days, gardening (the school garden initiative), and an inclusive resource center operate at the Lyceum. The school’s staff is actively involved in volunteering, making trench candles and tea blends for the Armed Forces.

Fortunately, the lyceum’s premises, including the library, were not damaged by the fighting. But the book collection needs to be updated. Currently, it has 7,210 titles of fiction, of which only 30% are in Ukrainian and only 10% are new (published after 2004).

At the same time, students show interest in reading. They are most fond of adventure, fantasy, comics, children’s detective stories, and horror stories. They are also interested in encyclopedias about animals, transportation, and space. Therefore, 50 modern Ukrainian-language books from B50 will significantly update and diversify the library collection of the Ripky Lyceum.

From February 24 to September 11, 2022, Kozacha Lopan, which is located just 2 km from the russian border, was under temporary occupation. The enemies set up two of their headquarters in the village and began to “restore order” – they installed loyal “authorities”, terrorized, searched and restricted people’s movement, set up two torture chambers where Ukrainians were tortured, raped and beaten (the invaders were especially cruel to ATO and JFO participants).

One of the russian headquarters was located in the building of a Lyceum in the center of the village. In front of the door, the occupiers made a barricade of overturned tables, with the letters Z and propaganda slogans painted on the lids with orange spray paint. The inside of the building is a mess: broken furniture, scattered notebooks, alcohol bottles, and various inscriptions (always with the letter Z) written on chalkboards. In almost every room there are half-dried traces of human excrement, and the smell is corresponding. In short, the school is empty after the invaders. 507 children are currently studying remotely (the educational process resumed in April 2022, during the occupation).

The Lyceum’s library also suffered losses: the blast wave damaged the windows, and the enemies burned all the textbooks they found (they did not touch the fiction). Before the full-scale war, the library collection included 14,058 books, brochures, and magazines, including 6,905 fiction books.

At the same time, students read with pleasure: teenagers are most interested in popular science literature and fiction works of programmed books. Kids prefer fairy tales and educational games. So we are sure that the books from B50 will definitely find their readers in Kozacha Lopan!

Kherson secondary school No. 39 “School-Family” is located on the outskirts of the city, 5 km from Antonivskyi Bridge and 10 km from Chornobaivka airfield. The school building itself was miraculously not destroyed, but it is located exactly between these two points of constant shelling

During the occupation, children studied online. However, not all of them had Internet access and the connection was lost.

Before the invasion, 380 children studied at school No. 39, and afterwards – 450 (the number increased due to IDPs). Currently, the educational process is taking place remotely due to the threat of shelling, which takes place in Kherson almost every day.

The school and library are very active. There is a Museum of Ethnography and Rural Life, and a club called “Local History” where young guides meet with school students and guests. The students are constantly involved in charitable activities, including the Marathon of Good Deeds campaign.

Although Killia was not under occupation, the residents of the city felt the presence of russian troops on the nearby Zmiinyi Island (“Snake Island”). The city was shelled a lot and often, and Kiliia was not destroyed only due to the excellent work of air defense. The townspeople also went through the enemy’s information and psychological attacks about landings and “you have nowhere to run”, but they bravely withstood.

Unfortunately, Odesa region is still suffering from constant attacks by enemy drones. Despite this, the building of Kiliia Secondary School No. 3 was fortunately not damaged. Today, 582 children are studying here in a mixed form (full-time and distance learning). The school has a bomb shelter.

The library collection is sorely lacking in Ukrainian-language books. Several times the school held the ” Present a Book to the Library” campaign, but this did not solve the problem, and there is still a lack of fiction, science and historical literature in Ukrainian. And such literature is extremely necessary, because Kiliia is located on the very border with Romania and the majority of the population is russian-speaking.

Savyntsi is a picturesque town located on the banks of the Siverskyi Donets River in the Izium district of Kharkiv region, the center of the Savyntsi territorial community.

For six months, the community was under russian occupation. Three schools (out of four) and one club were destroyed to the ground and cannot be restored. Savyntsi Music School was also damaged – windows were smashed, a large hole in the roof, and all musical instruments were lost.

Fortunately, the Savyntsi Lyceum, where 550 children (including IDPs) are currently studying remotely, was not seriously damaged (the only one in the entire community!). The building survived, but the occupiers took 69 computers and all the projectors were torn out so that they cannot be restored.

The library of the institution miraculously did not suffer any losses – the entire book collection remained on the shelves, but needs to be updated. Currently, the fiction collection includes 10,648 titles, of which only 30% are in Ukrainian, most of them published in the last century. The books for primary and secondary school age are most lacking.

Marhanets is actually on the front line, so it is under constant shelling from heavy weapons and drones. During one of the constant shelling, the building of Marhanets Lyceum No. 9 was damaged (the shock wave broke the windows of the library), where more than fifty children (including IDPs) are currently studying online.

Despite the fact that the lyceum is relatively young (it has been operating since 1986), the library collection is outdated, with only 35% of books in Ukrainian and 40% published after 2004, and a lack of Ukrainian-language books for the school curriculum and specialized literature.

At the same time, lyceum students love to read, and librarians are active. In particular, they hold a campaign called “Present a Book to the Library” in which people from different parts of the country send fiction and specialized literature in Ukrainian to the library of Lyceum No. 9.