I return to Kharkiv and children return to school


Shortly before I returned to Ukraine I was sitting in my mum's garden, from where we could hear the sound of children laughing and shouting in the playground on their first day of school. It's a lovely sound that, sadly, is not heard in Kharkiv or in any other city near the frontline.

In Ukraine, the new school year traditionally begins on 1 September. After Russia's invasion in 2022, schools in Kharkiv and Kharkiv region switched to online learning. In 2023, local authorities set up underground schools in Metro (underground) stations and began building schools underground. Now, there are 10 underground schools in Kharkiv. They are much in demand and, generally, reserved for younger children for just a couple of days a week. Air raid alerts are, of course, part of life for everyone now and out on the street it doesn't appear that children even notice them. But in a local article on returning to school underground, a first-grade pupil, Sofia, said: “I’m not afraid to go to class because lessons are held in a shelter.” For these children, the normality of playing outside with their friends is hard to come by; if there’s no air raid alert they may be allowed to go outside to play games.
https://gwaramedia.com/en/kharkiv-children-go-back-to-schools-underground-behind-armored-doors/


During my short stay in England, I visited the wonderful volunteers in the Community Shop and Library, Trawden, where I lived before the war. The volunteers have raised nearly £1000, so far, this year in support of Ukraine. Mary has featured in previous blogs - she knits tiny bears every night and sells them to raise money for Ukraine.


I learned that Mary also volunteers in a local primary school once a week. I had a thought about somehow linking the children Mary supports with children in a school here, to which I need to give further thought. I brought some bears back with me!


I send donations to Adults for Children, Kharkiv, which is now supporting an orphanage in Kyiv that looks after children from all over the country, some of whom have lost their parents due to the war.
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/17VmgDXzfJ/?mibextid=wwXIfr


Adults For Children continues to provide medicine and food to children with disabilities and other special needs.




It's wonderful to be back in the Kitchen, seeing old and new faces. As well as volunteers from Spain, Finland and Ireland, we have a UK contingent of five, including me, finally overtaking the numbers from the USA! I returned in time for the monthly Hell's Kitchen party. There was a barbecue and giant Jenga, which now seems to be a regular party fixture.


I soon readjusted to the backdrop of sirens, and the occasional sounds of drones and explosions. Kyiv has continued to bear the brunt of Russian attacks but the civilian death toll has significantly increased across Ukraine over the past two ⁠months.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/13/ukraine-war-briefing-nine-killed-and-dozens-wounded-in-russian-strikes-as-kyiv-braces-for-harsh-winter

Russian strikes on food warehouses and logistics supply chaiins across Ukraine are beginning to result in some food shortages. Taras Vysotsky, the agrarian policy and food minister, said that the logistics hubs of all Ukraine’s leading supermarket chains, including Novus, ATB, Silpo and Fora, had been destroyed or significantly damaged in the recent strikes.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/09/miserable-and-impossible-food-scarce-in-kyiv-ukraine-as-russia-targets-supply-chains?CMP=share_btn_url

The impact of these strikes is beginning to be felt in the Kitchen. We have a shortage of grains, which are generally used daily, and so we are using more potatoes whilst we have a good supply of them - foreign volunteers had to peel 12 buckets of potatoes earlier this week! We're grateful for a regular supply of donated pasta.

We foreign volunteers generally go to a hairdresser called Iryna. She, too, is involved in humanitarian aid, including distributing clothing sent from abroad to people in need here. She liaised with me about delivering clothes to the children's hospital. Iryna recently got in touch to ask for a contact for an organisation that could help an abandoned dog in a village in Kupyanskyi district, east of Kharkiv. The dog had survived for a year by living in the entrance of a building, until all residents were forced to evacuate the village.

Iryna already has a dog but she agreed to care for the abandoned dog, temporarily. The video of the dog's evacuation is harrowing and gives some insight into the lives of people who need to be evacuated from areas that have become too dangerous to live in.


Iryna reported that the dog was exhausted, malnourished and ill, requiring an operation. The organisation I suggested was unable to help with medical costs. But Iryna decided to keep the dog and called her 'Bella.' Iryna is struggling with the cost of vet bills and medication for Bella, which is likely to continue for some time. Any financial support would be greatly appreciated.

The good news is that Bella, although still underweight, is thriving, and seems very contented in her new home.



Returning to Kharkiv was enchanting. On my first day home the sky was a pure blue, the weather was warm and yet more flowers had been planted, even though autumn is approaching.



I noticed, more than ever, the cleanliness of the city, which is due to the efforts of city workers such as this woman outside the Kitchen, who made sure that not a leaf could be seen on the pavement!


Thank you, as always, for your donations; however small, they are always effective. Thank you, also, for taking the time to read this post. Comments are welcome, either on the blog site itself or by text message.

To make a donation to the regular causes I support, please open PayPal and, when asked for email, enter sunflower_house@hotmail.co.uk. You can specify where you would like your donation to go, including whether or not you wish to support a civilian only cause; otherwise I will send the money where I think the need is greatest:

Hell's Kitchen cooks daily, nutritious meals and bakes bread, for hospitals, wounded soldiers and others in need.
https://hellskitchenukraine.org/

The Adults for Children foundation in Kharkiv supports children and families affected by war, through humanitarian aid, including food and medicine. They focus on psychological rehabilitation, educational initiative and creating safe spaces for children's development.
https://instagram.com/adults_for_children?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Inna runs a small group of volunteers who make camouflage nets, ghillie suits and stretchers.

Forging Ukraine makes iron trench staples. https://linktree/forgingukraine?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=a51c49f0-5759-478d-8a44-2ce547d5a960

Kharkiv Paw Crew runs a shelter for dogs and horses.

I have made regular financial donations to an apartment community in Kherson but my community contact, Anastasiia, recently asked me not to send money, for now, because it's too dangerous to go out due to constant drone attacks. She says that even cyclists are being killed by first person view (FPV)  drones and she fears that they are being starved out. She writes that major food stores are leaving the city, the shelves in smaller shops are emptying and suppliers from the nearby city of Mykolaiv refuse to deliver bread and dairy products due to the shelling.

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