In Chernivtsi, First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska visited the educational space of the School of Superheroes and Voices Camp, both of which receive ongoing support from her Foundation.
The School of Superheroes has operated at the Chernivtsi Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital since January 2025 with the support of the Olena Zelenska Foundation. Over the center’s first year and a half, more than 1,300 children have been able to continue their education and have received more than 15,000 educational services.
The First Lady spoke with students and teachers and attended integrated classes for primary school students, older students, and the youngest patients in the preschool classroom.
“The School of Superheroes gives young patients back a sense of ordinary childhood, when every day is filled with learning, communication, and new discoveries, rather than treatment alone. That is why expanding this network is one of the Foundation’s priorities,” the President’s wife said.
She also visited the Voices Camp, which has been held with the support of the Olena Zelenska Foundation for the third year in a row, and spoke with the project team, psychologists, and camp leaders about the challenges young people face today, as well as psychosocial support practices that need to be scaled up.
The First Lady also met with the camp participants. Taras Topolia, a service member and frontman of the band Antytila, joined the conversation. The teenagers had an opportunity to ask questions and share their experiences.
Over the three years of the partnership, 18 Voices Camp sessions have been held, reaching more than 940 children and teenagers from across Ukraine. They include children from de-occupied and frontline areas, children of defenders, and those who have lost loved ones or their homes because of the war. During each session, psychologists and art therapists work with them, helping them cope with anxiety, find inner sources of strength, and regain a sense of safety.
This year, the project was scaled up: around 450 children took part in the camp across eight sessions – twice as many as last year.
“We cannot change what our children have been through, but we can do everything we can to ensure they do not have to face that experience alone. That is why the Foundation provides systematic support to psychosocial assistance projects that enable children to gradually regain a sense of safety, trust, and confidence in themselves,” Olena Zelenska said.