3,500 missile strikes on Ukraine schools.
400 schools completely destroyed.
21 schools are hit by missiles every week.
3 schools under missile attack every day.
In war-torn Ukraine, education has become a lifeline for thousands of students whose schools lie in ruins. For vulnerable teenagers in Kyiv—particularly those from low-income families and orphanages—remote learning is often their only path to a future. Yet, without laptops, even this opportunity slips away. The Ukraine Device Coalition estimates that 328,000 students lack devices, and while global efforts have delivered 240,000 laptops, a critical gap remains. Among them, 10,000 teenagers in Kyiv sit in the darkness of their education paused indefinitely.
We wanted to do something, so in collaboration with Prefects of King’s High School (Dunedin, New Zealand), and supported by King’s Old Boy & Kyiv Principal David van Zanten, the Hunt for the Nightingales* was developed, with the mission of sourcing and delivering a humanitarian aid package of 10,000+ 15” laptops to Kyiv, ensuring that some of the vulnerable students in Kyiv can resume their education (albiet remotely).
Former King’s Old Boy and King’s Maths Teacher, David van Zanten was, until recently, a director at Kyiv International School. He reached out to his former school, King’s High School because he couldn’t stand by as schools were crumbling around him, without doing anything. As an educator, he thought about what could be done for students whose schools had been destroyed and were reliant on devices for their remote education.
If you would like to help, contact carolyn@ecoshepherd.com
*Nightingales are the National Animal of Ukraine
