By Jack Waterman

Over the past nine months, Kidsave’s Corporate Mentoring program, Pathway to Success, has been serving kids across Ukraine through exceptional mentorship programming.

The “Taking Flight with Boeing” project recently wrapped up at an event full of presentations from the youth in the program. The nine pairs of mentors and youth presented on everything from aviation history and innovation to the personal dreams of the participants. They were given two months to develop their projects in whatever style best represented them. Some filmed videos, others made drawings, and one even created an animation.

“I really enjoyed working with [my mentor] Sergiy because he is a cheerful, good and joyful, person. He will always understand and also share his experience,” said Misha, a 14-year-old participant. “He will support you, give you advice, and help you correct your mistakes.”

Pathway to Success, which aimed to teach the youth about aviation while also building their self-confidence, is just one in a series of various career programs helping these young individuals realize their potential and power.

The program launched with a sports day designed to build teamwork skills through exercise and games. The youth had to find solutions, communicate with each other, and play their own role in a team, all while staying active.

“I realized that when working together, you need to look at the result and not get personal,” said Vlada, one of the youth. “It takes you away from the main goal.”

Our Pathway to Success youth also had the opportunity to compete in a soccer game and play with teams from the embassies of Italy and Libya, a celebrity team, and another team of teenagers from the Association of Corporate Football of Ukraine. The day was filled with touching moments and lots of excitement.

“I can say that I had the honor to play against people from other countries of the world. We showed everyone that vulnerable youth from mentoring programs are the future leaders of Ukraine,” said Vova Bulyubash, one of our Supermentors. “And there was a lot of amazing work done. I am still overwhelmed with emotions!”

Events like these focus on instilling strong team-building skills through the support of mentors. At a two-day conference in September, several mentoring organizations collaborated to help facilitate the development of such events for youth across Ukraine. The Mentoring Association, the Office of Children and Youth at the Ministry of Social Policy, and the Coordination Center for the Development of Family-Based Care and Education, with support from the European Union and UNICEF Ukraine, came together to produce “United by Mentoring” in Lviv.

The conference convened leaders across various organizations and public sectors to share their experiences with mentoring in Ukraine, as well as any ideas and best practices they may have to further implement mentoring opportunities. More than 60 key players contributed, including Pavlo Shulga, President of the Mentoring Association; the Minister of Social Policy, the Head of the Coordination Center, the Head of the National State Service for Children, representatives of UNICEF and a member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Some of the Mentorship Association’s alumni – youth who had been beneficiaries of the program in the past – presented their own experiences at the conference. These youth shared first-hand experience and valuable knowledge about the impact of these mentorship programs

“I got a lot of emotions! It was a big day,” said presenter Volodymyr. “We showed people that mentoring is not just about career guidance, it is about our future.”

This summer, 30 children and nine caregivers from Mykolaiv region stayed at the Kidsave Miracles Center for two months. These children came from institutional care, living in areas close to active hostilities. They had to hide in basements to avoid shelling almost every day and night, experiencing a variety of trauma from the war.

While at the center our psychologists provided trauma therapy sessions and conducted various therapeutic activities to help the children begin to heal. As well, supermentors led the children in various activities, such as visiting the local pool, playing on the new playground, and hiking in the Carpathian Mountains. During their two-month stay, their physical and mental health significantly improved.

By September 1, 2024, 11 children were successfully matched with permanent families, and six children were placed with relatives or kin. Ten children returned to their biological families with continued support from Kidsave.

Learn more about our work in Ukraine at https://www.kidsave.org/ukraine/. To hear more about how your business can contribute to the Corporate Mentoring program, Pathway to Success, email Tatiana at tatiana@kidsave.org.