«UFO steam hub» (https://www.instagram.com/ufo.steam.hub) was created to overcome educational losses through an innovative and creative approach to combining creativity and technology.
The space, together with the team, was opened by Kharkiv resident Kateryna Bebykh, the winner of the WIWAT (Women's Initiatives Work Adamant and Thoughtfully) project, aimed at improving the socio-economic integration of internally displaced women in host communities.
“Everything is just beginning. Thanks to financial support, we dared to open our hub. Until this year, we organized children's camps during the holidays and free clubs for newly arrived IDPs in various locations,” explains Kateryna.
Kateryna worked in the field of education. After the start of the full-scale invasion, she was forced to leave everything and move to Kremenchuk with her family. Then she went abroad. But later returned to the Poltava region. The idea to organize interesting leisure activities for children in Kremenchuk arose because of her son:
"We moved here from Kharkiv. And we had to find him a circle of friends. That's how our first educational camps began."
Since then, the woman has found not only friends for her son, but also a job she loves in a new place. She gradually collected the necessary materials and equipment. As part of the project, she was able to purchase, among other things, a 3D printer, a programmable designer, and a smart portable microscope.
"UFO steam hub" works for children from six to fourteen years old. Here you can attend:
- robotics courses;
- mathematics club;
- animation and cartoon club;
- steam club.
Throughout the month, the hub team held workshops – mini-classes on various topics to engage the audience. In September, they began working in circles.
This project produced by "Light of Hope" NGO, funded by The United Nations Women’s Peace andHumanitarian Fund (WPHF) with technical support of UN Women Ukraine.The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) mobilizes critical support for local and grassroots civil society organizations working on women, peace and security and humanitarian action. WPHF is a flexible and rapid financing mechanism supporting quality interventions designed to enhance the capacity of women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities.
This publication is produced with funding from the United Nations Women’s Peace andHumanitarian Fund (WPHF), however, the views expressed and content included does not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.
Photo: Light of Hope NGO/Stanislav Pantelei
