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Life in a time of war is difficult and often tragic, but thinking of others has helped the students at The British International School, Ukraine build resilience. Anna Azarova reports.
Every act of charity
In a world where compassion is more important than ever, every act of charity makes a meaningful difference. As the war in Ukraine enters its fourth year, missile attacks have intensified in recent weeks, impacting millions of lives each day. Here, we know all too well what it means to stand by one another in a time of crisis.
However, despite these challenges, education endures. Our campuses in Ukraine are open and young people continue to learn, grow, and persevere. While many schools around the world emphasise the importance of empathy and mutual support in their curricula, here in Ukraine, we live these values every day. It is this spirit of compassion, solidarity, and resilience that enables us to keep moving forward.
At The British International School, Ukraine (BISU), a learning journey has always been about more than academics. Our mission is to nurture socially responsible young people who can drive positive change in the world.
Resilience
Charity initiatives are common in schools, helping students develop virtues and soft skills essential for the modern world, such as creative and critical thinking, problem-solving, and social responsibility. But for us, it is something much more. It is our contribution to the incredible resilience that the people of Ukraine have demonstrated since February 2022.
War is a daily reality for our community. Some of our staff members stepped forward to join Ukraine’s army as early as 2022. Since then, BISU has stood firmly by them, providing active support. Our students went the extra mile. Earlier this year, our Student Parliament, comprising Primary and Secondary students, launched a five-week initiative to raise funds and collect extra supplies to support those in the most danger as a result of the fighting.Â
This project provided a meaningful way for our students, teachers, parents, and the wider community to participate. It allowed our students to express their gratitude and offer practical help to those protecting their future, as we continue working together for a safer, brighter tomorrow.
Project Implementation
The initiative was student-led. To engage the school community, the Student Parliament used its creativity to design a series of impactful posters, which were displayed across both campuses in Kyiv and Dnipro. In collaboration with our Marketing Department, we sent letters to parents encouraging them to take part, and announcements were made to all staff to further support the initiative.
We also partnered with several brigades on the frontline to strengthen the campaign and ensure the aid reached those who needed it most.
Outcome and Impact
The initiative was embraced by the entire BISU community and further strengthened the sense of unity within our school: as well as raising funds, we collected around 30 kilograms of essential items that were sent to units on the front line and to the Military Hospital in Dnipro.
Aisha, our student leader of the BISU parliament who is in Year 11, described what was involved:
 “We collected hygiene products, long-shelf-life food items, and survival equipment such as sleeping bags, masks, and flashlights. Parents and the community brought warm clothes, energy bars, nuts, toothbrushes and contributed financially.”
In addition, our students crafted handmade Easter decorations, greeting cards and sent letters to people at the front. We were grateful to the brigades we worked with, particularly the Tech Airborne Brigade, whose representative came to the school to collect the donations in person. Many BISU teachers, with family members serving in the military, went a step further by travelling to the border themselves to deliver the items directly to the defenders.
For Aisha,
“this project taught us the true meaning of resilience. We learned the value of clear communication, teamwork, and meeting deadlines, while applying what we had studied in business, maths, and English to lead the initiative’s success”.
International support
 The Student Parliament then went on to take part in the Global Goals Competition 2025, organised by our partner, Global Social Leaders (GSL) which is a global movement empowering young people to become socially conscious leaders and changemakers. It brings together schools, educators, and students to address global challenges through social action and personal development. The competition involves implementing a project-based learning programme to develop and bring about social action projects aligned with the United Nations’ Global Goals for Sustainable Development. In 2025 we were delighted to have our work recognised with two GSL awards.
The last three years have been long and difficult. Our school has never stopped operating since its establishment in 1997. We are the only international school that remained open after 2022 and we physically re-opened our campuses in Kyiv and Dnipro on 1 September 2022. This was made possible in no small part due to the support of our global partners and the exceptional courage and dedication of our staff in Ukraine. As a result of our global partnership network, our students continue to take part in numerous impactful international initiatives that promote cross-cultural communication, collaboration, shared responsibility and unity. They actively engage with global challenges through Earth Day conferences, the COP28 climate change project, MUN debates in Prague, the Sustainable Development Goals by Global Conversations, and more.
We are hugely encouraged to see that, despite all adversities, our students in Ukraine are growing as responsible, globally minded citizens, ready to take action and make a lasting impact on the world. Their resilience, exemplified by their service-minded charity, is just one more thing that keeps us all going.
Anna Azarova – Communications Lead – The British International School, Ukraine
Contact Info: https://annazaroff.wordpress.com/
Attention international educators:
We are calling upon individuals eager to embark on a transformative journey. Join our schools to deliver in-person and online lessons to our extraordinary students, where each day offers a challenging yet immensely rewarding opportunity to inspire, shape the future, and leave a lasting impact on the next generation.
For more information: a.azarova@britishschool.ua
FEATURE IMAGE: by Getty Images For Unsplash+
Support Images: Thank you to Anna and the kind permission from BISU Schools.
