28.04.25
At the heart of every compassionate society lies the way we teach our children. In Ukraine, even amid the ongoing war, a quiet but powerful revolution is taking place – one that starts in the classroom. Our humane education project is helping teachers inspire children to care for animals, protect nature, and become responsible citizens of their communities.
What is humane education?
Humane education goes beyond the usual lessons in science or citizenship. It encourages empathy, responsibility, and active care for the environment and all living beings. Through our project, Ukrainian teachers are learning how to integrate animal welfare and environmental protection into everyday lessons.
Our aim is to weave this knowledge across the whole curriculum – not just biology or ethics, but subjects like Ukrainian language, physics, chemistry, and even literature. We want children to understand, through their teachers, that everything we do has an impact on the environment, and as a result, on our own lives and well-being.
This project consists of a complex online training programme for teachers, which provides them with a certificate confirming their improved teaching qualification. It also includes an educational pack filled with methodological materials, ready-to-use lesson plans, and books.
In addition, we organise a series of “Lessons of Kindness” in schools and other community spaces – in April 2025, for example, we held lessons in the Sunday school of a local church.
With her dog Tequila by her side, our campaign coordinator, Natalie, spoke to children about:
- Compassionate animal guardianship.
- Why training dogs is so important and how to use only positive reinforcement.
- The dangers of letting a family dog roam free.
- How to behave around dogs in different situations, including stray animals.
We provide teachers with creative resources and training – everything from ready-to-use classroom materials to support with student-led projects. Children learn why pets need to be spayed or neutered, what to do if they see a stray dog, and how to live in harmony with wildlife. And most importantly, they learn that kindness is a strength.
Education in a time of crisis
It might seem impossible to focus on education during a war. But it’s precisely in times of crisis that compassion becomes more vital than ever. Ukrainian children are witnessing hardship every day. Our project helps them make sense of it all – giving them tools to act, to help, and to hope.
One young student who took part in our programme recently told her teacher: “I want to become a vet so I can help animals who lost their homes like we did.” That’s the kind of impact we aim for.
Together, we can build a future where children grow up seeing animals not as problems to be solved, but as lives to be respected and protected.
To find out more about our work in Eastern Europe click here.
