First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska began her visit to Canada at Alberta Children’s Hospital in Calgary – one of the largest paediatric medical centres in Western Canada. The hospital is home to Dr. Gordon Townsend School, an educational space that gives children undergoing long-term treatment access to learning.
Olena Zelenska met with the school’s team and representatives of the Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation – the official charitable organisation that raises funds for the hospital. The President’s wife noted that Ukraine is also developing educational spaces at children’s hospitals – Schools of Superheroes. In 2024 and 2025, the Olena Zelenska Foundation funded the opening of 12 such schools. Plans for this year include opening four new schools and expanding four that are already operating.
“The main purpose of the School of Superheroes is to ensure that a child does not lose access to education because of illness. And simply being able to live a normal life also helps children during treatment. So I am glad to meet with colleagues and like-minded people and work together to support children’s health and improve their well-being,” the First Lady said.
Olena Zelenska also visited The Summit: Marian & Jim Sinneave Centre for Youth Resilience, which provides support for young people. The facility’s guiding principle is quick, free access to psychological support for a child and their family, without a complicated referral process. It offers free walk-in psychological support, programmes for young people experiencing mental health problems or a worsening of their symptoms, and a day hospital for young people who need specialised supervision and therapeutic support after being discharged from hospital.
“As I meet the centre’s team, I am sharing our experience with similar initiatives in Ukraine, because the Olena Zelenska Foundation’s projects include the ‘12–21’ network of psychological support centres for teenagers. This year, we opened the first five such spaces – in Bila Tserkva, Khmelnytskyi, Chernihiv, Kryvyi Rih, and Odesa. And we are planning more. Their concept is very close to that of the Canadian centre I am visiting: free, accessible, friendly support for children and teenagers. So today, we are not just looking at initiatives developed abroad – we also have our own, because we want to give our children the best possible support,” Olena Zelenska concluded.