I am Ukrainian! In my country, there is a war. My life has turned upside down and changed in an instant.

During my educational career, I had the privilege of receiving various certificates, awards, and recognition from local education authorities, both at the regional and city levels, as well as from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. I was a semi-finalist for the National Global Teacher Prize Ukraine in 2020 and 2021. I hold numerous diplomas as a speaker at All-Ukrainian and International scientific-practical conferences, webinars, and training sessions for teachers, psychologists, and parents, and I am involved in the professional development of educational professionals and more.

 However, these achievements were significant to me in some other, previous life. Behind them, there is hard work, dedication, thousands of books, sleepless nights, inspiration, enthusiasm, and the sparkle of children's eyes.

 For me, other things have become more significant. Through tears and pain, what's most important and valuable to me now is working for children, their families, and educators during a full-scale war.

 I started taking action on February 25th, initially offering support as a psychologist to uplift Ukrainians. However, I am primarily a teacher, and when forced holidays were announced in the country a few days later, I realized I couldn't leave them to face the horrors of war alone. An idea came to me to support them, distract them, and be there for them. I decided to conduct special resourceful and educational lessons. Just by sharing an invitation on my social media page, I had 52 participants the following day. Children joined from various places: basements, bomb shelters, other people's homes, cities, and countries, and I saw frightened eyes that, despite everything, wanted to be together, smile, and have moments of joy and happiness.

 On that very day, I realized I was on the right path, and I would support the children as much as I could. I was not alone, and a team of resilient and caring teachers from various parts of Ukraine gradually formed. We started working simultaneously in the Free Online School for Ukrainian children, organized by Polish colleagues, and in various projects, supporting Ukrainians.

Working in shifts, providing consultations, webinars, and training for children, their families, and teachers is not easy. But when you see eyes filled with gratitude, happier, even for a moment, a child's smile, and tears of joy from mothers, it empowers you to do even more.

We have been doing and continue to do so to this day: lessons following the Ukrainian curriculum for Ukrainian children from 30 countries worldwide, consultations and psychological support sessions, webinars for their parents, training for teachers, and more.

But for me, it couldn't mean 'enough' if I felt the strength to do more and heard requests from those in need.

Our organization 'YOUR STEPS' supports the initiatives of the youth. In February 2023, we organized the EdCamp for children based on the initiative of Ukrainian girls and boys, focusing on topics and areas that matter to them. They wanted to discuss volunteering, civic engagement, national memory, and development, to be useful to their country wherever they are. About 700 participants from different parts of the world registered for the event, all eager to stand together, and build a community of strength and resilience.

We also wanted to support Ukrainian teachers, so in May 2023, we initiated and conducted an EdCamp at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, aiming to bring together educators from different parts of the world in a blended format, to support, stand by, encourage collaboration, generate new ideas, interesting joint projects, and teacher cooperation across different countries for the sake of a brighter future for our children.

But could this ever be enough? Of course not.

A month later, our team organized a unique project called 'Collaboration Atelier,' involving students, parents, teachers, and the community. It provided platforms for collaboration among these communities to be heard and act together for the development of the city, village, community, and country.

Many plans, many actions, many dreams

However, there is one painful question for me: the Free Online School for Ukrainian children will operate only until December 31st. As of today, we have over 1500 registrations, and 600 students completed the last academic year in our school. We educate Ukrainian children from 30 countries worldwide, those who want to learn both in our school and in the Ukrainian education system. Some of these children study in other countries and continue learning with us, while others study exclusively with us.

 We need 55,000 euros to keep the school running until the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. We are trying to raise funds for the school's operation during the summer, but we haven't succeeded yet. However, we believe that we can do it because otherwise, the chances of these children returning to Ukraine will be very slim. We must do everything to ensure that each of them retains this chance and hopes to return home: with their native language, friends, classmates, and their teacher live every evening. This will preserve their faith and our hope for a bright future.

 Measure your worth not by the reasons why you haven't done something, but by the results when you've done it, despite everything

I am Ukrainian! In my country, there is a war. My life has turned upside down and changed in an instant.

During my educational career, I had the privilege of receiving various certificates, awards, and recognition from local education authorities, both at the regional and city levels, as well as from the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. I was a semi-finalist for the National Global Teacher Prize Ukraine in 2020 and 2021. I hold numerous diplomas as a speaker at All-Ukrainian and International scientific-practical conferences, webinars, and training sessions for teachers, psychologists, and parents, and I am involved in the professional development of educational professionals and more.

 However, these achievements were significant to me in some other, previous life. Behind them, there is hard work, dedication, thousands of books, sleepless nights, inspiration, enthusiasm, and the sparkle of children's eyes.

 For me, other things have become more significant. Through tears and pain, what's most important and valuable to me now is working for children, their families, and educators during a full-scale war.

 I started taking action on February 25th, initially offering support as a psychologist to uplift Ukrainians. However, I am primarily a teacher, and when forced holidays were announced in the country a few days later, I realized I couldn't leave them to face the horrors of war alone. An idea came to me to support them, distract them, and be there for them. I decided to conduct special resourceful and educational lessons. Just by sharing an invitation on my social media page, I had 52 participants the following day. Children joined from various places: basements, bomb shelters, other people's homes, cities, and countries, and I saw frightened eyes that, despite everything, wanted to be together, smile, and have moments of joy and happiness.

 On that very day, I realized I was on the right path, and I would support the children as much as I could. I was not alone, and a team of resilient and caring teachers from various parts of Ukraine gradually formed. We started working simultaneously in the Free Online School for Ukrainian children, organized by Polish colleagues, and in various projects, supporting Ukrainians.

Working in shifts, providing consultations, webinars, and training for children, their families, and teachers is not easy. But when you see eyes filled with gratitude, happier, even for a moment, a child's smile, and tears of joy from mothers, it empowers you to do even more.

We have been doing and continue to do so to this day: lessons following the Ukrainian curriculum for Ukrainian children from 30 countries worldwide, consultations and psychological support sessions, webinars for their parents, training for teachers, and more.

But for me, it couldn't mean 'enough' if I felt the strength to do more and heard requests from those in need.

Our organization 'YOUR STEPS' supports the initiatives of the youth. In February 2023, we organized the EdCamp for children based on the initiative of Ukrainian girls and boys, focusing on topics and areas that matter to them. They wanted to discuss volunteering, civic engagement, national memory, and development, to be useful to their country wherever they are. About 700 participants from different parts of the world registered for the event, all eager to stand together, and build a community of strength and resilience.

We also wanted to support Ukrainian teachers, so in May 2023, we initiated and conducted an EdCamp at Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań, aiming to bring together educators from different parts of the world in a blended format, to support, stand by, encourage collaboration, generate new ideas, interesting joint projects, and teacher cooperation across different countries for the sake of a brighter future for our children.

But could this ever be enough? Of course not.

A month later, our team organized a unique project called 'Collaboration Atelier,' involving students, parents, teachers, and the community. It provided platforms for collaboration among these communities to be heard and act together for the development of the city, village, community, and country.

Many plans, many actions, many dreams

However, there is one painful question for me: the Free Online School for Ukrainian children will operate only until December 31st. As of today, we have over 1500 registrations, and 600 students completed the last academic year in our school. We educate Ukrainian children from 30 countries worldwide, those who want to learn both in our school and in the Ukrainian education system. Some of these children study in other countries and continue learning with us, while others study exclusively with us.

 We need 55,000 euros to keep the school running until the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. We are trying to raise funds for the school's operation during the summer, but we haven't succeeded yet. However, we believe that we can do it because otherwise, the chances of these children returning to Ukraine will be very slim. We must do everything to ensure that each of them retains this chance and hopes to return home: with their native language, friends, classmates, and their teacher live every evening. This will preserve their faith and our hope for a bright future.

 Measure your worth not by the reasons why you haven't done something, but by the results when you've done it, despite everything