Ukrainian Refugee Women Renovate a Classroom for Students at "Taras Shevchenko" Gymnasium

Ukrainian refugee women have renovated a classroom for students at the "Taras Shevchenko" Gymnasium in Chișinău after completing a training course in construction. All the students in this classroom, along with their teacher, are refugees.

The 26 children who now enjoy improved learning conditions thanks to this project also participated in a chocolate-making workshop alongside the refugee women, where they learned about the benefits of sharing household responsibilities equally. The work done by the refugee women demonstrated that professions are not bound by gender, and the games they participated in during the activity helped to break down stereotypes.

“These remarkable women have learned new skills in construction and renovation, and now you have a comfortable classroom where you can enjoy learning and playing. The skills learned in Moldova will later help them contribute directly to rebuilding their own country. Meanwhile, understanding that both boys and girls can choose any profession they like, and that household chores can be shared equally, will empower you to pursue what you love without being constrained by stereotypes,” noted Dominika Stojanoska, UN Women’s representative in Moldova.

"I came to Moldova for two weeks, and I’m still here today. We don’t have men by our side to help us, so we are learning many things out of necessity. Thanks to trainings like these, we feel more confident, do useful things for the community, and gain new skills," says Tatiana, a course graduate and refugee from Odesa with two children, who was previously a teacher.

The event was attended by Vice Mayor Angela Cutasevici and the leadership of the Chișinău Municipality’s General Department of Education, Youth, and Sports. Currently, almost 1,800 refugee children from Ukraine are enrolled in Chișinău’s educational institutions, with the highest number, around 200, studying at the "Taras Shevchenko" Gymnasium. Some of the girls from this gymnasium, including from the renovated classroom, have won medals for Moldova in regional artistic gymnastics championships.

The classroom renovation was the final project for eight Ukrainian refugee women who completed construction training through a project developed by Katalyst, with support from UN Women and financial backing from the Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF).