East SOS Helped Procure Equipment to Create Safe Conditions in Frontline Schools in the Sumy Region Worth UAH 5.5 Million

The East SOS Charity Foundation continues to provide systematic support to educational institutions in regions constantly threatened by russian aggression. One of the priorities for 2025 was the support of five schools in the Sumy region as part of the School Up project.

On October 14–16, 2025, the East SOS Educational Team visited three schools in Konotop and the villages of Kosivshchyna and Mykolaivka, which, by decision of the Sumy Regional Military Administration, currently conduct classes exclusively in shelters.

Following a monitoring mission in February 2025 to assess the needs of educational institutions, between June and October the Foundation provided equipment and materials worth UAH 5,547,750. The donations were used to repair classrooms and shelters, and to equip safety and psychological relief rooms — creating more comfortable learning conditions and helping to stabilize the emotional well-being of both students and teachers.

The monitoring visit made it possible to gather feedback from administrators and teachers on the effectiveness of the provided equipment, as well as to assess the work of educators who continue teaching just a short distance from the frontline.

“We saw that the shelters have transformed from mere places to wait out air raid alerts into functional, comfortable spaces where teachers can deliver quality lessons and children feel safe,” said Anna Loza, Educational Coordinator at East SOS. “The materials we provided helped establish psychological relief classrooms, where teachers can not only support children in overcoming trauma but also restore their own inner resources. Another key element was the creation of safety classrooms, where students learn to administer first aid and recognize hazardous objects through models and simulators.”

Mykolaiv Lyceum of the Mykolaiv Village Council, Sumy District, Sumy Region

Safety Class

• Educational stands: a set of visual aids-stands “Explosive objects”, “Explosive things”, a set of visual aids-stands “Explosive things”) complete set of educational stands on explosive objects and fire safety);
• Simulators: including a fire safety simulator “Electric Oven”, a CPR training mannequin with circulation simulation, a tourniquet control simulator, a “Learning Fire Safety” soft module, and the “Fire Shield” educational game stand;
• Educational games: Fire Station play set, Construction Set, Hospital, Policeman, Fire Truck with Water Spray, Ambulance, and Police Car toy kits;
• Furniture: office chairs and a shelving unit.

Psychological Relief Room

• Repair materials: non-woven vinyl wallpaper, wallpaper adhesive, and new window sills;
• Furniture: 30 pieces in total, including armchairs, shelving, beanbags, a meeting table, corner sofa, coffee table, upholstered chair, flower-shaped children’s table, and poufs;
• Equipment and materials: multimedia panel, dry pool with balls, therapeutic games, kinetic sand, and stationery.

Shelter

• Furniture: 77 items, including a teacher’s desk, flipchart, chairs, sofa-bench, shelving cabinet, transforming furniture set, ball chair, poufs, puzzles, and mobile blackboards (black and white);
• Stationery and supplies for learning and creative activities.

Kosivshchyna Lyceum named after Lesia Ukrainka of the Stepanivka Village Council, Sumy District, Sumy Region

Safety Class

• Educational stands: a set of stands illustrating examples of explosive objects, including “Fire Shield”, “Emergency Numbers”, “Dangerous Animals”, “Psychological Safety” kit, and “Personal Protective Equipment”;
• Games: “Traffic” and “Road Signs” game sets with functional traffic lights, “Road Signs” educational game, “Rescue Services” toy transport set, “Firefighters” board game, and a First Aid educational kit with augmented reality elements;
• Simulators and training equipment: a set of explosive ordnance mock-ups; simulators for practicing first aid skills (including CPR mannequins and tourniquet trainers); fire safety simulators; a collective first aid kit for shelters (for 100–150 people); and demonstration protective equipment (gas masks, respirators, protective masks);
• Furniture: 9 items, including storage cabinets, desks, a folding round table, and a sofa bench.

Psychological Relief Room

• Furniture: 17 items, including an office sofa, two coffee tables, shelving units (standard and partition type), a recliner chair, meeting table, upholstered chair, office cabinet, and a clothes rack;
• Tea set for informal gatherings;
• Stationery for creative and educational activities.

Shelter

• Furniture: 61 items, including a low three-door cabinet with two drawers, an art table, a magnetic marker organizer, a New Ukrainian School (NUS) furniture set, wooden student chairs, a multiboard stand, teachers’ chairs, a sofa bench for the shelter, and both floor and wall-mounted clothes racks;
• Stationery for educational and creative activities.

Konotop Lyceum No. 7 named after Hryhorii Hulianytskyi of the Konotop City Council, Sumy Region

Safety Class

• Educational materials: sets of stands on explosive objects, traffic rules, radiation and chemical safety, as well as a developing stand-game “Fire Shield”, a “Water Safety” stand, and a carpet with road markings;
• Visual aids: sets of cards “Moneybox of Tips. How to Be Safe?” and “Road Signs”;
• Simulators and training equipment: a set of explosive ordnance models, a disposable artificial respiration device, an AMBU bag, a first aid kit for snake and tick bites, a tourniquet, gauze for tamponade, a full-size collapsible model of a 120 mm fragmentation mortar shell, a trauma care mannequin, an external automatic defibrillator simulator, and a child life jacket;
• Furniture: wall unit for subject classrooms.

Psychological Relief Room

• Furniture: 5 items (a set of poufs, a regular rack, and a mobile rack);
• Stationery for activities and creative exercises.

Shelters

• Repair materials: cement, putty, flooring, and acrylic paint;
• Furniture: 44 items, including student desks and chairs, a set of transforming mats, teachers’ tables, a universal wall with shelves and cabinets, and outerwear hangers;
• Equipment: 23 units, including laptops, printers, a laminator, projector, hanging screen, convector, charging station, and megaphone.

Konotop Lyceum No. 1 of the Konotop City Council, Sumy Region

Safety Class

• Repair materials: flooring;
• Furniture: 34 units, including office chairs and tables, a beanbag chair, and an office chair;
• Educational stands: “Mines”, “Safety Signs”, “Safety on Water and Ice”, and “Fire Shield”;
• Visual aids: card set “Moneybox of Tips. How to Be Safe?”;
• Simulators and training equipment: CPR and AED trainers, a trauma care mannequin, first aid kits (including for snake and tick bites and collective use in shelters), a non-contact infrared thermometer, powder and carbon dioxide fire extinguishers, a fire helmet, a fire hose, and a set of tires for practical exercises;
• Equipment: 5 units, including an interactive whiteboard, projector, wall mount for a short-throw projector, cable, and extension cord.

Psychological Relief Room

• Repair materials: roller blinds;
• Furniture: 19 units, including a hanging cocoon chair, meeting table, office and upholstered chairs, a set of square wooden wall shelves, two coffee tables, and a soft meeting area;
• Equipment: 5 units, including a laptop, projector with screen, wireless mouse, and speaker system;
• Stationery for psychological and creative activities.

Shelter

• Repair materials: tactile tiles, cement, entrance and technical doors, self-leveling polyurethane flooring, starting and finishing putties, and acrylic paint;
• Furniture: 50 units, including a five-surface combined school board, sets of student desks and chairs, semi-soft table and chair for the teacher, sofa benches for the shelter, a mobile rack for panels, a wall hanger, and a podium with a round base;
• Equipment: 48 units, including a laptop, interactive panel, radio microphone, megaphone with microphone, radio, laminator, printer, heat gun, cables, various types of surge protectors, wired computer mouse, router, voltage switch, uninterruptible power supply, and webcam.

Konotop Lyceum No. 12 of Konotop City Council, Sumy Region

Safety Class

• A set of stands with examples of explosive objects;
• Fire safety simulators;
• A mannequin for practicing advanced emergency care for injuries;
• Sets of road signs;
• Furniture: 11 units, including sets of student desks and chairs, a podium, and a flipchart;
• Equipment: 7 units, including an interactive whiteboard, projector with wall mount, cables, and power strips of various types and sizes.

Psychological Relief Room

• Repair materials: metal entrance doors and flooring;
• Equipment: 7 units, including a portable speaker, radio microphone, microphone stand, and acoustic set;
• Therapeutic equipment: 14 units, such as sensory tiles, toys, hammocks, and a dry ball pool;
• Stationery and art supplies: electric glue gun, tape, paper, paints, drawing pads, foamiran, colored pencils, air plasticine, and more.

Shelter

• Repair materials: metal entrance doors, green enamel, and acrylic paint;
• Furniture: 35 units, including sets of student desks and chairs, and a mobile rack for the interactive panel;
• Equipment: 33 units, including an interactive panel, monoblock, keyboard and mouse set, wired speaker system, webcam, network filters, and cables.

The daily reality of border and frontline schools is shaped by the proximity of combat zones and the constant sound of sirens. Despite this, we are committed to defending every child’s right to a safe and uninterrupted education.

Follow our social media channels to read the “Stories of Resilience”, which highlight the experiences of each school participating in the School Up project. The lives of children and educators near the frontline serve as living testimony to the critical decisions made to protect the nation’s future.

Support for these educational institutions was provided as part of the project “School Up: Supporting Schools in the Sumy Region to Improve Safety and the Psychological Wellbeing of Students”, implemented by East SOS with financial support from Fondation suisse de la Chaîne du Bonheur (Swiss Solidarity).

In March, a training on safety and emergency response was held in Kyiv for representatives of schools participating in the School Up project.