Five Schools – Five Important Projects for Frontline Communities: Results of the East SOS Winter Bootcamp

From February 23 to 27, 2026, an intensive project management training course took place in Lviv, bringing together five school teams from the Chernihiv, Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv regions. Over five days, participants worked on developing practical solutions tailored to their communities’ needs.

The Educational and Project Department of East SOS guided 25 participants through the full project development cycle – from in-depth problem analysis and needs assessment to defining clear objectives, drafting implementation plans, and preparing detailed budgets. Working closely with mentors, the teams refined their project ideas, assessed feasibility, and identified sustainable mechanisms to ensure long-term impact.

“Unlike this year’s summer boot camp, the teams had only five days to develop complete project proposals and budgets before moving to implementation within just one month. This intensity reflects the urgent need to respond quickly and systematically to the challenges communities face during wartime. Education cannot pause – decisions must be made and implemented without delay,” said Anna Kior, Education Program Manager at East SOS.

The bootcamp concluded with a pitching session, during which the teams presented their research findings, project proposals, and budgets. Each initiative aims to strengthen student support systems and improve the educational environment in frontline communities.

All five teams will receive UAH 260,000 each during this academic year to implement their projects:

• Pryvovchanske Lyceum of the Troitske Village Council (Pavlohrad District, Dnipropetrovsk Region): renovation of the school’s botanical garden to create a therapeutic and outdoor educational space for students and the wider community;
  
• Dnipro Gymnasium No. 46 (Dnipro City Council): organization of a ten-day leadership camp, “Success in a Crisis,” for students and their parents;
  
• Prybuzke Lyceum of the Halytsynove Village Council (Mykolaiv District, Mykolaiv Region): establishment of an office space within the village administration building for teachers and educational process participants whose school was destroyed by a russian missile in 2022;
  
• Snovsk Lyceum No. 3 (Snovsk City Council, Koriukivka District, Chernihiv Region): creation of the “ProSTEM Snovsk” robotics space aimed at enhancing technological and STEM skills among children and adolescents;
  
• Yampil Lyceum No. 2 (Yampil Community, Sumy Region): development of a 360° mobile sustainability hub to strengthen community interaction and support the psycho-emotional well-being of students.

“In each of the participants’ ideas, we saw a direct response to the specific challenges schools in frontline communities face today – security concerns, the need for psychological support for children, the creation of safe spaces for learning and development, and support for teachers. Since 2016, we have been working alongside communities living near the front line. A school is a place of support and stability. When teachers are equipped with the tools to act, they can change children’s lives here and now,” emphasized Yuliia Krasilnykova, Board Member at East SOS.

The projects will move into the implementation phase in April, marking the first stage of activities within the participating communities.

The Winter Bootcamp represents another step in East SOS’s systematic work to strengthen frontline communities through the development of education and the institutional capacity of schools.

The project management training was organized by the East SOS Charity Foundation as part of the “School Up: Strengthening the Capacity of Frontline and Displaced Schools in Ukraine” project, implemented in partnership with the Danish Helsinki Committee and with the support of CISU.

Read more about the achievements of the Bootcamp 2025 winners within the “School Up” project.