The First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, summed up the results of the year for the activities of the Foundation.
Throughout 2023, the Foundation united partners from at least 25 countries worldwide to support Ukrainians and continued implementing crucial projects in 19 regions of Ukraine.
The total amount of financial support from international partners reached approximately UAH 500 million. However, the majority of the aid received by the Foundation consisted of goods directly from partners: laptops, tablets, generators, heating systems, water purification, etc. – all provided to those who needed it most.
In 2023, Olena Zelenska's Foundation also underwent an audit by the international grant platform CAF America and obtained the status of a transparent and reliable organization, eligible for collaboration with donors and philanthropists from the United States.
The Foundation's main areas of activity include humanitarian assistance, education, and healthcare.
Humanitarian Aid
Support for residents of the de-occupied Kharkiv region. In 2023, the Foundation continued to provide residents of liberated territories, primarily de-occupied communities in the Kharkiv region, with generators, heaters, and more. For instance, 154 powerful generators were delivered to hospitals, educational institutions, and others.
Additionally, the Foundation supported local residents and internally displaced persons (IDPs) by setting up 13 temporary shelters with household appliances, furniture, and more.
Drinking water for the frontline regions. Olena Zelenska's Foundation donated 20 water purification systems to units of the National Police in the Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions. They also provided 30 filtration systems to the State Emergency Service in the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Each installation is capable of purifying at least 1200 liters of water per day.
Humanitarian support for large foster families. Over the year, the Foundation provided humanitarian assistance to every third large foster family in Ukraine, offering materials for house repairs and insulation, generators, household appliances, educational gadgets, and more. Some of these families had to rebuild their lives and households practically from scratch in a new location.
Family Vacation: The Foundation organized a joint vacation in the Ukrainian Carpathians for large foster families from the frontline regions and families of military personnel. More than 1400 children were able to enjoy quality time with their foster parents.
Room for Childhood
In 2023, the Foundation launched the extensive "Room for Childhood" project, constructing new homes for large foster families that lost their housing due to the war. The construction of the first 14 houses is currently underway in eight regions of Ukraine.
Education
In the new academic year, a third of Ukrainian schoolchildren continued to study exclusively online, especially those in the frontline regions. In 2023, the Foundation provided over 30,000 students and teachers with tablets and laptops. These are children and educators from Donetsk, Luhansk, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Zaporizhzhia, Sumy, Chernihiv, and other regions.
To facilitate the return of as many students as possible to in-person learning where feasible, barrier-free and fully equipped shelters in schools and kindergartens need to be arranged in regions where possible. Therefore, the Foundation contributed to the arrangement of the first shelters in educational institutions in the Poltava and Chernihiv regions.
In 2023, the Foundation took on a new commitment to rebuild a children's creative and sports hub in Borodianka, Kyiv Oblast. The center for children's creativity and sports school at this location was destroyed by Russian missiles in early 2022. In the first stage of construction, the Foundation has already attracted USD 1 million. The preparation of architectural and project documentation is currently underway.
Additionally, in 2023, the Elena Zelenska Foundation initiated a nationwide sociological study called the "Future Index" in collaboration with the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE). This is the first comprehensive study of children's well-being in Ukraine during wartime, incorporating both the assessment of objective statistical data and a representative survey of children. The well-being of children is evaluated across nine dimensions: health, safety, education, mental health, relationships, social and emotional skills, risky behavior, material well-being, and the system of institutional support and upbringing. The goal of the "Future Index" study is to identify the key problematic areas of childhood in Ukraine and assist state institutions in forming effective policies.
In the healthcare sector:
Reconstruction of a Key Hospital in Izium: The Elena Zelenska Foundation continues to implement a large-scale project to rebuild a hospital in the city of Izium, Kharkiv Oblast. The hospital was looted and partially destroyed during the occupation. This medical complex served as a key facility for the region, catering to 150,000 residents annually before the war. In 2023, the Foundation allocated $1 million for the preparatory stage of construction. The comprehensive reconstruction of the Izium hospital is scheduled to begin in 2024, taking place in three stages. The first phase includes the construction of a new surgical-therapeutic building with an area of up to 10,000 sq. m and the major repairs of several other medical complex buildings.
Support for the Central Hospital in Chuhuiv: The Foundation provided assistance to a medical facility in Kharkiv Oblast by supplying a generator substation for uninterrupted power supply to therapeutic, gynecological, palliative, and surgical departments. Additionally, the Foundation helped rebuild the traumatology department, purchasing new medical equipment and furniture with a total value of over UAH 4 million.
Expansion of Evacuation Ambulance Fleet: With the Foundation's support, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine received 23 evacuation ambulances for the frontline regions. Each vehicle is equipped with all the necessary tools for emergency medical assistance, including oxygen cylinders, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, electrocardiographs, and artificial lung ventilation devices. The Foundation plans to provide a total of 50 such vehicles for evacuating civilians from frontline regions.
"Christmas on the Threshold" Project:
Prior to Christmas, the Elena Zelenska Foundation extended greetings to all foster and large foster families in Ukraine. On December 23, 3100 foster families, caring for children without parental care, simultaneously received gifts.
The project was made possible through the assistance of Ukrainian and international partners. Collaboration was facilitated by the embassies and honorary consuls of Ukraine in Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Austria, Germany, and Turkey.
"We thank all our partners for every item and every component of this initiative. Because behind the numbers are human destinies that change for the better with each donation. Hopes that come true thanks to empathy. These and other projects go with us into the new year. To help, support, and defend not only Ukraine but also the humane world in which we want to live together," summarized Olena Zelenska.
