Estonia's kindergarten in Ukraine opens expansion with four classrooms

The Ovruch kindergarten in Ukraine, built with Estonian support, has opened a new building with four classrooms for 80 children. In total, the Estonian kindergarten gives 160 children in Ovruch the opportunity to start their education in a safe and inspiring environment.

"Supporting the country and children of Ukraine is the least we can do. It is important that we also send a signal to our partners: a strong and protected Ukraine is a strong and protected Europe," said Signe Riisalo, the Minister of Social Protection of Estonia, at the opening.

UNICEF estimates that more than 5 million children in Ukraine have been cut off from school because of the war, and thousands of children are at risk of losing years of education and social development.

Klen Jäärats, the executive director of the Estonian Centre for International Development (ESTDEV), said kindergarten and school provide children with the confidence they need for development, and the lack of it can have lifelong consequences.

"It is impossible to simply postpone children's education and return to it when other more pressing issues have been resolved. If we do that, we risk the future of an entire generation," said Jäärats. "Therefore, it is especially meaningful that Estonia's first reconstruction project is a kindergarten. We firmly believe in the future of Ukraine and want to give the children of Ovruch the opportunity to learn, play and communicate with their peers in the same conditions as their peers in Estonia.”

The Estonian government financed the construction of the Ovruch kindergarten with 4.5 million euros. Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Flanders also supported the construction of the kindergarten. ESTDEV managed the project in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Culture.

The Ovruch kindergarten employs 40 people. The whole team, from the director of the kindergarten to the cooks, was trained in Estonia and received an overview of modern teaching methods and best practices in early childhood education in Estonia. In addition, all the other kindergarten managers in Ovruch and education officials from the Zhytomyr oblast have received training in Estonia through ESTDEV. 

The Estonian government financed the construction of the Ovruch kindergarten with 4.5 million euros. Iceland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government of Flanders also supported the construction of the kindergarten and the training of the education managers. ESTDEV managed the project in close cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Culture and the Estonian Embassy in Kyiv to ensure the rapid implementation of the project in Ukraine. 

ESTDEV also raised €100 000 worth of funds from the Estonian private sector to the construction of the kindergarten.

"The construction of the Ovruch kindergarten is the largest public-private partnership project in Estonian development cooperation to date. We are grateful to the Estonian companies Harmet and Nordecon, who worked with short deadlines to quickly hand over the kindergarten to the city of Ovruch. Many thanks also to all the companies who offered their services and products free of charge," said Jäärats.

"With the construction of the kindergarten, Estonia has sent a strong signal that reconstruction in Ukraine is possible and essential to give Ukrainians hope and reaffirm our support to see that the gruesome war shows no signs of abating," commented Jäärats.

The Estonian kindergarten in Ovruch is the first educational institution to be completed as part of the reconstruction of Ukraine.

See more photos of the opening of the kindergarten and the building on Flickr.