Latest news with #SavetheChildren
Yahoo
a day ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Really worried': Ukrainian pupils mark end of school as war drags on
As she watched her 17-year-old son Vladyslav graduate from high school in Kyiv on Friday, servicewoman Oksana Baranovska said she felt a mix of pride and fear. Her son had finished school despite years of disruption -- first from the coronavirus pandemic and then Russia's invasion -- but she worried about what his future would hold in a country at war. Despite peace talks and a flurry of diplomacy to try to end the war, Ukraine's class of 2025 -- like the three before them -- graduate into a country under daily bombardment and with no sign Moscow wants to halt its invasion. "Like every mother, I am worried about my child's future. At school he was better protected in case of attacks. But adult life, unfortunately, can be more difficult," Baranovska, 42, told AFP. "I'm a servicewoman myself, and I was really worried about my child's life because I fully understand the situation in the country," she said. When Vladyslav turns 18, he will be barred from leaving the country under Ukraine's martial law. Baranovska, who worked as a border guard, said she offered her son one last opportunity to take a trip abroad before his birthday. But he insisted on staying in his homeland. - 'Screw Putin' - On Friday he took part in his school's "Last Bell" ceremony, a tradition in which a top student rings a bell in a symbolic mark of the end of the academic year. Boys in suits then led girls dressed in white dresses to a waltz in the school's courtyard. Schoolmaster Olga Tymoshenko breathed a sigh of relief. "We are all alive, all healthy, we were all together. That's why the year was great despite everything," she told AFP. The threat of Russian attacks hovers constantly over schools across Ukraine. Air alerts forced children to miss an average of one in every five school lessons over the past academic year, according Save the Children. The United Nations says more than 1,600 schools were damaged or destroyed in the first three years of the war launched in February 2022. In the country's east, closer to the front line, schools have been forced underground, where students and teachers are better protected from incoming shells. Tymoshenko said the children had learned safety measures. "When the alarm sounds, they are the first to run there, they know their places. You know, children adapt to everything very quickly," she said. Graduation passed without any air raid sirens -- to Vladyslav's relief. The 17-year-old also had a message for pupils on the other side of the border -- and front line -- in Russia. "Please stop this war at any cost. It will be better for you and for the whole world," he said. "And screw Putin." bur-brw/jc/js
France 24
a day ago
- Politics
- France 24
'Really worried': Ukrainian pupils mark end of school as war drags on
Her son had finished school despite years of disruption -- first from the coronavirus pandemic and then Russia's invasion -- but she worried about what his future would hold in a country at war. Despite peace talks and a flurry of diplomacy to try to end the war, Ukraine's class of 2025 -- like the three before them -- graduate into a country under daily bombardment and with no sign Moscow wants to halt its invasion. "Like every mother, I am worried about my child's future. At school he was better protected in case of attacks. But adult life, unfortunately, can be more difficult," Baranovska, 42, told AFP. "I'm a servicewoman myself, and I was really worried about my child's life because I fully understand the situation in the country," she said. When Vladyslav turns 18, he will be barred from leaving the country under Ukraine's martial law. Baranovska, who worked as a border guard, said she offered her son one last opportunity to take a trip abroad before his birthday. But he insisted on staying in his homeland. 'Screw Putin' On Friday he took part in his school's "Last Bell" ceremony, a tradition in which a top student rings a bell in a symbolic mark of the end of the academic year. Boys in suits then led girls dressed in white dresses to a waltz in the school's courtyard. Schoolmaster Olga Tymoshenko breathed a sigh of relief. "We are all alive, all healthy, we were all together. That's why the year was great despite everything," she told AFP. The threat of Russian attacks hovers constantly over schools across Ukraine. Air alerts forced children to miss an average of one in every five school lessons over the past academic year, according Save the Children. The United Nations says more than 1,600 schools were damaged or destroyed in the first three years of the war launched in February 2022. In the country's east, closer to the front line, schools have been forced underground, where students and teachers are better protected from incoming shells. Tymoshenko said the children had learned safety measures. "When the alarm sounds, they are the first to run there, they know their places. You know, children adapt to everything very quickly," she said. Graduation passed without any air raid sirens -- to Vladyslav's relief. The 17-year-old also had a message for pupils on the other side of the border -- and front line -- in Russia. "Please stop this war at any cost. It will be better for you and for the whole world," he said. "And screw Putin." © 2025 AFP
Int'l Business Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Int'l Business Times
'Really Worried': Ukrainian Pupils Mark End Of School As War Drags On
As she watched her 17-year-old son Vladyslav graduate from high school in Kyiv on Friday, servicewoman Oksana Baranovska said she felt a mix of pride and fear. Her son had finished school despite years of disruption -- first from the coronavirus pandemic and then Russia's invasion -- but she worried about what his future would hold in a country at war. Despite peace talks and a flurry of diplomacy to try to end the war, Ukraine's class of 2025 -- like the three before them -- graduate into a country under daily bombardment and with no sign Moscow wants to halt its invasion. "Like every mother, I am worried about my child's future. At school he was better protected in case of attacks. But adult life, unfortunately, can be more difficult," Baranovska, 42, told AFP. "I'm a servicewoman myself, and I was really worried about my child's life because I fully understand the situation in the country," she said. When Vladyslav turns 18, he will be barred from leaving the country under Ukraine's martial law. Baranovska, who worked as a border guard, said she offered her son one last opportunity to take a trip abroad before his birthday. But he insisted on staying in his homeland. On Friday he took part in his school's "Last Bell" ceremony, a tradition in which a top student rings a bell in a symbolic mark of the end of the academic year. Boys in suits then led girls dressed in white dresses to a waltz in the school's courtyard. Schoolmaster Olga Tymoshenko breathed a sigh of relief. "We are all alive, all healthy, we were all together. That's why the year was great despite everything," she told AFP. The threat of Russian attacks hovers constantly over schools across Ukraine. Air alerts forced children to miss an average of one in every five school lessons over the past academic year, according Save the Children. The United Nations says more than 1,600 schools were damaged or destroyed in the first three years of the war launched in February 2022. In the country's east, closer to the front line, schools have been forced underground, where students and teachers are better protected from incoming shells. Tymoshenko said the children had learned safety measures. "When the alarm sounds, they are the first to run there, they know their places. You know, children adapt to everything very quickly," she said. Graduation passed without any air raid sirens -- to Vladyslav's relief. The 17-year-old also had a message for pupils on the other side of the border -- and front line -- in Russia. "Please stop this war at any cost. It will be better for you and for the whole world," he said. "And screw Putin." Boys in suits led girls to a waltz in the school's courtyard AFP Air alerts forced children to miss an average of one in every five school lessons over the past academic year AFP The United Nations says more than 1,600 schools were damaged or destroyed in the first three years of the war AFP
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Winnipeg Free Press
Humanitarian group pauses aid trucks bound for Gaza, citing Israeli restrictions
OTTAWA – A humanitarian group says it's holding back 17 trucks filled with Canadian aid meant for desperate Palestinians in Gaza, citing what it calls a dangerous aid distribution system implemented by Israel. Human Concern International says it has food and medical supplies sitting in Jerusalem that it doesn't feel comfortable taking into the Gaza Strip after Israeli soldiers fired warning shots near crowds of desperate people rushing for food on Tuesday. Israel implemented the distribution system and claims Hamas is stealing large amounts of aid, a claim global institutions say hasn't been proven independently. Aid groups such as Save the Children say putting a warring party in charge of aid distribution politicizes the process, particularly when Israel is only making aid available far from the areas it's trying to clear of Palestinians. The United Nations, which has withdrawn from working with the new system, says Israel's restrictions on food aid in the territory are creating desperation and risking famine. Aid groups say Ottawa has fallen silent on the situation in Gaza in the days since Prime Minister Mark Carney and the leaders of France and the United Kingdom issued a joint statement threatening to impose 'targeted sanctions' over Israel's renewed military offensive in Gaza. This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 29, 2025.
Scoop
4 days ago
- General
- Scoop
Ukraine: Air Raid Sirens Halted One In Every Five Lessons This School Year
Air raid sirens forced children in Ukraine to miss an average of one in every five school lessons during the past academic year that ends this week with pupils preparing the third consecutive summer under war, Save the Children said. In some regions, pupils missed over half of their classes during the 2024-2025 academic year due to air raid sirens, according to a Save the Children analysis of publicly available data [2] about the frequency of air raid alerts and impact on education from 2 September 2024 to 11 May 2025. Save the Children's analysis, using methodology developed this year, [2] found if students had five lessons in a typical day, on average they would miss one due to air raid sirens. This sustained disruption is putting an entire generation's learning and development at risk, and chipping away at children's mental wellbeing. The most significant disruptions to the education process occurred in the northern and central regions of Ukraine - those closest to the frontline of fighting. Children in the Sumy region were the most impacted, missing an estimated 85% of all scheduled lessons, equivalent to about 700 out of 830 lessons. Kharkiv and Donetsk regions had visibly higher losses than most other regions, with students missing over two thirds of lessons over the year. For the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, territories located near active hostilities, students missed out on over 40% of lessons. The analysis is released in the same week as the 10th anniversary of the Safe Schools Declaration , [1] the inter-governmental political commitment to protect schools, students and teachers during armed conflict. It is based on methodology developed by the Center for Education in Emergencies Research as part of the 2024-2026 Multi-Year Resilience Programme (MYRP Ukraine), funded by the global fund Education Cannot Wait. Across Ukraine, children live in constant fear of potential attacks that frequently keep them home from school, as air raid sirens often start in the morning and persist throughout the school day. Since February 2022, more than 4,000 educational institutions have been damaged or destroyed, including 229 schools, 110 kindergartens, and 97 universities. Air raid sirens in Ukraine are only activated in case of a real threat or emergency. When a siren sounds, teachers must immediately stop the lesson and escort children to a shelter. Classes can only resume if the shelter is properly equipped as a temporary learning space which is rarely the case. Even in schools operating online due to security concerns or a lack of shelters, lessons are interrupted as children must still seek shelter during alerts. Students must remain in a safe place until the threat has passed. With the escalation of conflict coming just a year after schools re-opened following the COVID-19 pandemic, the toll of lost learning has been immense. UNESCO data shows that schools in Ukraine were fully closed for 125 learning days [3] during the pandemic and partially closed for a further 95. A quarter of children - 24% - are still restricted to online learning only, due to lack of shelters in schools and other security issues. Halyna-, a mother and a teacher from Mykolaiv, who teaches in person, said: "Our children have been through such a distressing experience. They constantly read news channels, they understand what ballistics are, how missiles are launched, their potential trajectory, and the different types of explosions. They know what it means when a missile is launched and when it hits. They understand all of it. But understanding doesn't take away the fear. The psychological stress they're under is immense." Sonia Khush, Country Director for Save the Children in Ukraine, said: "Children in Ukraine, especially those who live in the East and near the frontline, are under constant stress because of air raid sirens both day and night. "Due to bombs and drones, school is no longer a safe space. All parties to the conflict must protect education - schools, kindergartens, universities - in line with the commitments of the Safe Schools Declaration. While Ukraine has been forced to get used to a new normal, children's rights must be guaranteed. We call on the international community, governments, and all parties to the conflict to ensure the safety of schools and uphold children's right to learn in peace". May 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the Safe Schools Declaration. A total of 121 states have committed to taking concrete steps to prevent attacks on education, avoid the use of schools for military purposes, and safeguard the right to learn even in times of crisis. As the Declaration states, " Every boy and girl have the right to an education without fear of violence or attack. Every school should be a protected space for students to learn, and fulfill their potential, even during war." Save the Children has been working in Ukraine since 2014. Since 24 February 2022, the children's rights agency has dramatically scaled up its operations and now has a team of 250 staff based in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Dnipro, Donetsk and Chernivtsi. Working with more than 25 partners, the organisation has provided essential support and reached more than 3.44 million people, including around 1.4 million children. Notes: [1] In November 2019, Ukraine became the 100th country to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration. [2] Save the Children broadly followed the methodology adopted in this Center of Excellence of Education study to estimate lessons lost due to air raid alerts that occurred on school days and during school hours, using a publicly accessible database of air raid alerts available here. Only oblast level alerts were considered. Since the length of the school day and the number and length of lessons varies by grade, we took averages to work out estimates across school children of all ages. Given that an alert is likely to lead to learning disruption longer than just the length of the alert, following Vox Ukraine's methodology, we considered any alert in secondary school of between 5 and 59 minutes as leading to the loss of an entire lesson, while for primary students a lesson was considered lost as a result of any alert lasting between 5 and 54 minutes since primary school lessons are shorter. School holidays vary between schools; however, we followed announcements in local news articles to guide identification of holiday days which with weekends and public holidays were not counted in the calculations.
