Education in the line of fire: What Filipinos can do for Ukrainian children

MANILA, Philippines — Should children have to choose between safety and school?

In Ukraine, they do. As classes resume this September, lessons are held underground in bunkers. Subway stations transform into makeshift schools and children learn math and reading as airstrikes happen above them.

On top of books and pencils, school bags also carry blankets, medicines, respiratory masks and other essentials in case children need to retreat to a bomb shelter.

Because of Putin, Ukrainian children and their education are in the line of fire.

The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has been ongoing for more than 570 days, causing a fourth year of disrupted learning for children. After the COVID-19 pandemic, students struggle to regain a sense of normalcy in their everyday lives.

According to enrollment data by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), a third of children of primary and secondary age enrolled in Ukrainian schools are attending physical classes. At least one-third of enrolled students are learning through a mixed approach of in-person and online, and one-third are fully remote.

This underscores the importance of providing electronic devices to students in order to continue their education—a lifeline that our team in Children of Heroes currently provides. This July, we distributed 1,000 educational devices to children to use for school.

Our mission to support Ukrainian children who have lost one or both parents to the war began in 2022. Since then, Children of Heroes has assisted over 6,000 children in need, as up to 50 children join our assistance programs every day. By the end of 2023, we anticipate that up to 10,000 children will be under our care.

Beyond material aid, these children require educational,