The Olena Zelenska Foundation Expanded Support for Inclusive CosmoCamp as the Project Reaches Three Cities This Year

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska visited the inclusive summer CosmoCamp in Kyiv. Now in its ninth year, the project continues to provide a barrier-free space where children and teenagers can relax, grow, and receive psychosocial support.

"Inclusive spaces like this give children much more than recreation. Here, they make friends, discover new opportunities, learn to interact with others, and feel accepted for who they are.

For the Olena Zelenska Foundation, it is important that accessibility is not just a principle but an everyday reality in education, leisure, and social interaction. It is especially meaningful that this year, thanks to the scaling of the project, many more children will have access to this experience," Olena Zelenska said.

The President's wife met with the children, counselors, and volunteers and joined in the camp's activities. According to the CosmoCamp team, after just a few weeks at the camp, children become more confident, calmer, and more trusting of themselves and others.

This year, CosmoCamp in Kyiv has brought together 100 children, including children with complex developmental disabilities, their siblings, children receiving palliative care, children who lost their parents in the war, children under guardianship, and children forced to leave their homes because of the war.

The Olena Zelenska Foundation has supported CosmoCamp for the second consecutive year. In 2025, the Foundation funded the project for the first time, making it possible to hold an inclusive camp for nearly 100 children. This year, the support continues as part of the “12–21” youth spaces project, with financial backing from the Howard G. Buffett Foundation. Thanks to this support, CosmoCamp has expanded beyond Kyiv for the first time: inclusive camps will also welcome children in Kolomyya and Kremenchuk. Altogether, the project will serve 160 children in three cities this summer.

CosmoCamp follows an inclusive model, with participants divided into small groups of 12 to 15 children. Each group is supported by counselors and personal assistants for children who need them. The camp's program combines workshops, games, quests, creative activities, and other shared experiences.

"We are glad to create, for the ninth year in a row, a camp where childhood has no disability. Every year, we see a strong demand from parents for a place where their children can simply relax, play, try new things, and make friends," said Olesia Iaskevych, head of the NGO See With Your Heart, who runs the project.