By Ines Guittonneau | Communication Officer
The conflict in Ukraine has forced millions of Ukrainian people to leave their homes; dozens of thousands decided to stay in the country and are temporarily hosted in collective shelters around the country. TSF brings free Wi-Fi coverage in the shelters who don't have access to the internet, to support the suspended lives of the IDPs.
This access to free WIfi enables people to communicate with their loved ones, access information, work, and continue their education. For young people and their families, the Internet can be a real support to continue following school in a time of conflict. This is the case for Anton and his mother, Olga.
Anton, 11 years old, lives in a shelter after fleeing his home with his mother when he was 8. Immediately after they fled, connectivity was a lifeline for education - “when we came here”, Olga told us, “we immediately switched to online studies, because there were hostilities.” Being able to follow the lessons together helped Olga support him, explain the topics to him, and more.
Since then, schools have reopened in some parts of Ukraine, including the area where Anton and his mother live. But connectivity is still helpful for him. For example, he uses it to communicate with his teachers and classmates: "I go to the chat and write that I need the homework.". This free Wifi is also helpful to find educational videos: "We look for online lessons.", Olga said. "He opens the Internet, finds the topic, watches how it is explained, how it is done, and then continues to work on his own. (...) It was not convenient for us to use a mobile Internet. Because we watched a lot of [those] videos. A lot. We simply did not have enough data."
In the last 3 months, the TSF team in Ukraine has extended the project to 2 additional centers in Dnipropetrovsk and Ternopil Oblasts. Covering a new center involves several steps both organizational and technical, and coordinating with multiple stakeholders to ensure the action responds to the identified need.
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