One of the regions our employees come from is Ukraine. Therefore we as a company feel very connected to Ukraine and the war victims. OTTO Foundation has already helped out the victims of this war in several ways, but wanted to do more. As with any war, many Ukrainian children are affected by the war. To help them we reached out to War Child to financially aid two of their programs.

One of the consequences of the Ukraine War is the closure and even destruction of educational institutions. Furthermore, millions of children cannot go to school while being on the run. Education is a fundamental right and important for the development of children. Therefore we donated € 100,000 to War Child to benefit their Can’t Wait to Learn program: ‘helping children return to learning amid extreme conditions’.

Via this program children in and outside Ukraine who cannot go to school because of the war, can still receive education. Teachers, caregivers and children can use it wherever they are since it is an online app based learning environment. Before the program was introduced in Ukraine it has already been used in other conflict-affected countries worldwide.

Even though Can’t Wait to Learn is game-based and created with the help of children, children will maintain their (educational) level since government-approved curricula are the basis of the program. Children can not only keep up their academic outcomes, but also positively impact their social and emotional wellbeing.

The Ukraine war did not only affect the children´s education, but affected them in many more ways. Especially those on the run from the war. Being on the run and everything they go thru is anything but easy. All this stagnates their development and has a negative impact on them physically, mentally and psychosocial. That is where War Child, in collaboration with Save the Children and UNICEF Netherlands, steps up with: TeamUp. Through sports, games and movement activities they provide the refugee children (6-18 years) social and emotional support and stability. To help these children who came here to The Netherlands we donated € 50,000 to the War Child TeamUp program.