In the summer, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education issued a decree according to which schools in Ukraine are only allowed to teach if they have enough shelters where all the students and staff can find protection in case of direct fire. Such a regulation shows that war has, unfortunately, already become part of everyday life.

The need to provide shelters poses particular challenges for all schools in Ukraine. "We have started building an air-raid shelter in order to be able to start face-to-face classes as soon as possible," the head of the Stupeni Waldorf School in Odessa wrote to us in August. "For our school, living learning is essential. And direct contact is absolutely necessary for this. Also, a survey of parents showed that most of them want face-to-face teaching & learning for their children." Work in the school is progressing well: the basement has been deepened, the floor has been concreted and cables for electricity and communication have been laid. But the costs are great: "We have spent all the money in the school account on this work, including the salaries for August and all contingency funds, and now we are starting to work with construction workers on credit," the headmistress continued. However, it is important for die Freunde that the money we have already transferred for the salaries from our March appeal is also available for exactly this purpose, because the teachers still need reliable salaries. Their presence in the school is especially important for the students now. In addition to the Stupeni School, other Waldorf schools are dependent on donations in order to be able to expand their buildings accordingly, but also in order to be able to continue financing normal school operations. We are, therefore, happy for every single donation for the Waldorf schools in Ukraine.