Slovak Teachers Take Students to War-Torn Ukrainian Village for Reconstruction Efforts

Two Slovak educators have been leading students from a Bratislava gymnasium on regular trips to the Ukrainian village of Pidhajne, located just 100 kilometers from Kyiv, for the past three years. Kristína Uhlíková and Peter Popluhár, who founded the initiative called Young People for Ukraine, organize reconstruction work to repair houses damaged by the war and run camps for local children. The educators describe witnessing both the 'enormous malice of Russians' and the 'great will of Ukrainians to live and repair the damage' during their humanitarian missions. Their work provides direct assistance to a community affected by the ongoing conflict while giving Slovak students firsthand experience of the war's impact on civilian life, including the psychological effects of nightly drone sounds overhead.