Empathy may be the single most important quality that must be nurtured to give peace a fighting chance.” — Arundhati Ray

An elementary school class in Santa Barbara has been learning about the struggles Ukrainian children are facing through the Flat Sasha project.

Inspired by Flat Stanley, the Flat Sasha project is raising awareness and much needed funds to support Kidsave’s ongoing humanitarian work in Ukraine. Flat Sasha represents a 12-year-old orphan displaced from their home in Mykolaiv due to the war, like millions in Ukraine are today. Participants are encouraged to use the Flat Sasha kit to print, post, and pledge by printing Flat Sasha out, decorating and personalizing it, and then posting it on their social networks with the hashtag #FlatSasha. Then, participants can pledge their continued support to Ukraine by donating to Kidsave’s life-saving work.

A class of 40 students in the fourth and fifth grades at Riviera Ridge school learned all about Ukraine and the Flat Sasha project in their Kaleidoscope World Religions class. Their teacher, Kari Eiler, first saw the project through social media.

“I learned about the Flat Sasha project from an Instagram post from Kidsave highlighting the work being done in Ukraine to help children and families affected by the Russian invasion,” said Eiler. “Our unit of study at the time was Sikh studies, and a primary purpose within the Sikh faith is service to others.  Connecting our Sikh studies to events unfolding in Ukraine provided a powerful opportunity to consider how our actions in Santa Barbara might positively ‘serve’ others in Ukraine.”

Kidsave staff member, Chloe Fuller, met with the Kaleidoscope class over Zoom to give a presentation on Flat Sasha and Kidsave’s role in helping children and families in Ukraine. The group listened as Fuller explained how Kidsave has been working in Ukraine since 2016 to find loving families for children growing up in crowded orphanages and institutions and provide resources and assistance to teens aging out of care. When the war began, Kidsave began provided emergency humanitarian aid and evacuating children and families to safety.

The kids learned that, since the war began, Kidsave has evacuated over 30,000 people—including over 13,000 children—to safety and delivered over 1,800 tons of humanitarian aid. To help them understand the magnitude of these numbers, Fuller showed the class how to convert tons to pounds and then explained that the amount of supplies Kidsave has delivered weighs the same as 450 African elephants! After the presentation, the kids were able to ask Fuller questions about Kidsave’s work and the work in Ukraine.

“I was amazed at how thoughtful their questions were,” said Fuller. “It was clear that, not only had they been listening, but they really care about what’s happening to children in Ukraine.”

When asked about why she felt sharing the Flat Sasha project with her class was important, Ms. Eiler responded,  “Our students are the future! Through Service Learning opportunities – such as the Flat Sasha project, students are given access to better understanding the difficult reality of war, the refugee experience, and justice (or a lack thereof) existing in other parts of the world. As an educator, I feel strongly that students need to know that they can create change in their world.  Children possess open hearts and creative minds: our world will be a better place if adults would invest in finding more ways to engage them in social change initiatives, such as Flat Sasha.”

About Kidsave Ukraine

Kidsave is committed to Ukraine; our work began there long before the war and it will continue long after. While we will continue to provide emergency humanitarian aid and evacuation during this time, we have also begun working to help rebuild Ukraine and lay the foundation for a better tomorrow. Construction is underway on a Kidsave Miracles Center, a multi-functional space that will be used to provide safe refuge, help train staff, facilitate our programs, provide a connection space for children and families, and become a place of healing offering trauma therapy and counseling services.

To learn more about our work in Ukraine and the Flat Sasha project, visit www.kidsave.org/ukraine/.