Ukraine’s First Lady Olena Zelenska, together with the Olena Zelenska Foundation team, visited the Chernihiv region.
"The Chernihiv region continues to suffer from shelling by our neighboring country. Since the beginning of this year alone, the Russian enemy has attacked the region nearly 650 times. Despite this, life goes on, and the Foundation, with the support of international donors, is implementing crucial projects here—rebuilding shelters for children, providing gadgets for online learning, supporting the healthcare system, and much more," said the First Lady.
As part of this visit, three ambulances were delivered to the Emergency Medical Center. The vehicles are part of a new support package facilitated by the Olena Zelenska Foundation from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia). A total of 60 ambulances will be distributed among medical centers in Kyiv and 16 regions of Ukraine. So far, the Foundation has provided 137 ambulances to medical professionals, with additional funding from the governments of the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Slovenia.
"Thanks to the delivery of this many ambulances, nearly 25% of the total need for Class B emergency medical vehicles will be met by 2025," emphasized Vitalii Kryliuk, head of the Ukrainian Scientific and Practical Center for Emergency Medical Care and Disaster Medicine under Ukraine’s Ministry of Health.
Additionally, together with the Foundation team and Madara Siliņa, Acting Ambassador of Latvia to Ukraine, Olena Zelenska handed over 628 devices for online learning to students from 12 communities in the Chernihiv region.
"We are deeply grateful to our friends and partners from Latvia – Ziedot.lv Foundation – for supporting Ukrainian education. This is already the second batch of devices from this donor. In 2024, the foundation provided 672 laptops for students from four communities in the Chernihiv region," said Nina Horbachova, Director of the Olena Zelenska Foundation.
With the support of its partners, the Foundation has already provided over 65,000 students and teachers with tablets and laptops.
Separately, the Foundation team visited a school where a new shelter is being built, capable of accommodating more than 200 children. The Foundation is funding this project with the support of a new partner – the government of the Åland Islands. In total, at least 12 shelters will be restored in different regions as part of this partnership. The Foundation team has already selected all of these sites for reconstruction.
Furthermore, Olena Zelenska, together with the Foundation team, UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative on Violence Against Children Najat Maalla M’jid and Head of the UNICEF Country Office in Ukraine Munir Mammadzade, visited a large foster family of internally displaced persons from the Kharkiv region. Through the state subvention program, this family with seven children recently received a new home in the Chernihiv region.
The family was provided with humanitarian aid, including a refrigerator, freezer, drying and dishwashing machines, microwave oven, vacuum cleaner, a rechargeable battery, as well as gadgets for children for online learning.