in this school in kyiv, in full air alert, lessons continue in the shelters

kyiv may be the capital of a country at war, but at school no. 34, it’s a morning like any other. It teaches from the preparatory course to the equivalent of the baccalaureate. The director shows the establishment to Elise Lucet and her team of “Special Envoy”.

The visit has barely begun when an air alert sounds… in the school, and throughout the city. All the children come down from the classrooms located upstairs to reach the shelters, as a pre-recorded message broadcast by loudspeaker asks them.

This is the seventh alert this week

We follow the terminals to the basement. As the alerts are sometimes long, a classroom has been set up in the shelter, and the course will continue here…”Of course, it’s a bit stressfulrecognizes a teenager. But hey, we manage…”

The atmosphere is studious, calm reigns… These frequent alerts (it’s the seventh of the week) don’t seem to bother the students too much. “We want to learn! says a young girl. Even in such complicated conditions.”

“We do our best to work well. We want a brighter future for Ukraine, that’s our primary motivation.”

A final year student from school no. 34 in kyiv

in “Special Envoy”

In the basement, there is another, larger shelter for children aged 7 to 10. It also serves as a shooting range, to introduce students to the handling of weapons.

This time, the alert lasted almost two hours. No missile fell on kyiv – unlike what happened on March 18, 2022: an explosion blew up a whole part of the school, which was fortunately empty that morning.

Excerpt from “Special Envoy” of February 16, 2023, special evening “Ukraine, an endless war?”

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