The Irpin community suffered the devastating effect of Russian aggression from the first days of the war. The temporary occupation of Irpin lasted from 5 to 28 March. During this time, there was a real humanitarian disaster in the community, hundreds of people were killed, and even more people were humiliated and violated. In less than a month of occupation, about 75% of the infrastructure in the community was destroyed, in particular, every school was damaged, the Rashists destroyed almost all educational institutions. The community is actively working to restore the infrastructure, but it will take time and resources.
Rehabilitation and creating educational environment for children were needed urgently. In this context, the Eco-camp was established. The program of the camp was comprehensive and included several blocks on the following topics: The power of the earth, The power of biodiversity, The power of water, The power of the spirit, The power of interaction and support.
During the camp, children learned a lot about the nature; mastered a number of interesting environmentally friendly activities, for example, prepared healthy sweets; played interesting eco-games; engaged in creativity, for example, sculpting from clay and painting with flowers; and just had fun and quality time, which was very important. All of the above-mentioned activities had a therapeutic effect for recovery after the experienced stress, and served as an effective environment for children's development and learning. The powerful effect of the ecotherapy consists of restoring health through communication with nature, improves the physical and mental conditions of children, increases their intellectual abilities. In addition to the therapeutic and educational effect, ecotherapy also allows children to form a sense of unity with nature and a responsible attitude towards the environment.
We decided to protect children from the future effect of air bombing. We preselected an educational institution to restore the bomb shelter there. After that, long construction works began. The condition of the premises was quite horrible and unfit for use, especially by children. It was dark, damp and wet, but with joint efforts we and our partners achieved a great result. The walls and floor were repaired, the entrance and seating areas were also equipped, the wiring was replaced and the room was illuminated. At the moment, the 200 m² room, designed for 250 people, is actively used by residents of Irpin and pupils of school No. 12. The interactive safety training for kids was designed and delivered by the young experience experts. Thais made the training very participatory and efficient.
The implementation of this initiative inspired us to launch a large-scale project to restore educational institutions and help children in Irpin. We continue together with the crowdfunding platform SavEducation in Irpin
© 2026 Nikita Kardash