Our Work in Ukraine

In Ukraine, The Library Project works through community centers to help children continue reading and learning amid the disruption of an active war. Reading Corners and Book Donations place books within accessible community spaces, giving children opportunities to read, learn, and maintain important connections to education even when regular schooling is interrupted.

Our Literacy Programs provide additional opportunities for children to practice reading and strengthen skills that may have been affected by displacement, online learning, interrupted classes, and prolonged periods away from school. Training & Support helps educators and community-based partners use books and literacy activities effectively while responding to the changing needs of children living through conflict.

We also provide Capacity Building for local nonprofit organizations serving children and families in Ukraine. Through mentoring, program development, fundraising guidance, planning tools, and other practical resources, we help locally led organizations strengthen their ability to provide sustained educational support during the war and as communities recover.

Literacy in Ukraine

The war has profoundly disrupted education for children across Ukraine. UNESCO estimates that the conflict has placed the education of 5.7 million school-age children at risk, with damaged infrastructure, displacement, interrupted schooling, limited access to in-person education, and ongoing threats to children’s well-being all affecting learning.

Disruption continues even for children who are enrolled in school. During September and October 2026, air-raid alarms occurred on nearly two-thirds of school days, interrupting an average of 34 hours of scheduled learning time. Since the beginning of the full-scale war, the United Nations has verified almost 2,000 attacks on educational facilities, including approximately 270 during 2026 alone.

These conditions have contributed to substantial learning challenges. In PISA 2025, only 55 percent of 15-year-old students in the 17 participating Ukrainian regions reached the baseline level of reading proficiency, compared with 69 percent across OECD countries. The assessment could not include ten jurisdictions heavily affected by the war, including Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and other frontline or occupied areas, meaning the results do not represent the entire country.

Community-based learning spaces can therefore play an important role in helping children maintain access to books, educational activities, and supportive relationships. The Library Project contributes to this effort through Reading Corners, Book Donations, Literacy Programs, Training & Support, and Capacity Building, helping children continue learning while strengthening the local organizations supporting them through conflict and recovery.