The Olena Zelenska Foundation Has Already Provided Humanitarian Aid to More Than 600 Large Foster Families
November 5, 2025
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The First Lady of Ukraine, jointly with the Olena Zelenska Foundation team and partners, visited large foster families in the Poltava region, who received humanitarian aid from the Foundation this fall as part of family-based care support initiatives.
Since its inception, the Olena Zelenska Foundation has consistently supported large foster families. This is a part of the Foundation’s comprehensive approach to supporting family-based care. Such aid is provided to large foster families from various regions of Ukraine, including those residing in frontline and de-occupied territories, internally displaced families, and those who have received housing under state budget benefits. The Foundation considers the individual needs of each family by compiling a list of aid tailored to the specific requests of each family.
“Humanitarian aid for large foster families exemplifies how high-quality support changes the lives of entire families. This is one of the directions of the Foundation’s activities, since we strive to ensure that every child has a home, care, and the opportunity to grow. We believe that responding to urgent needs is important, but so is creating a sustainable environment where children grow up in love, safety, and support. Due to such partnerships and joint initiatives, more than 600 families have already been provided with the necessary humanitarian aid,” Olena Zelenska, First Lady of Ukraine and founder of the Foundation, notes.
One of these families visited by Olena Zelenska jointly with the Foundation team and Munir Mammadzade, Head of the UNICEF Representative Office in Ukraine, is Olena Husarenko’s large foster family. The family raises nine children, five of whom are siblings. As part of the state budget benefits, a spacious house was purchased for this family. However, a new housing is just the beginning, since housing requires arrangement and equipment to make the space cozy and comfortable for all children.
That is why the Olena Zelenska Foundation, jointly with UNICEF in Ukraine, launched the “From House to Home” initiative this year. It was created to help large foster families who receive housing under state budget benefits equip their housing according to their needs.
“Every child has the right to a safe and loving family to grow, develop, and thrive while reaching their full potential,” Munir Mammadzade, Head of the UNICEF Representative Office in Ukraine, says. “UNICEF is proud to work with the Olena Zelenska Foundation to help transform houses into homes and create a warm, stable, and caring environment for those who need them most,” Munir Mammadzade adds.
Under this initiative, individual needs of 105 large foster families across Ukraine, for whom housing was purchased as part of a benefit in 2024–2025, have already been assessed. The initiative aims to support all families who will receive houses before the end of the year under state benefits, in creating a comfortable environment for children’s life and growth in their homes. This initiative was made possible thanks to financial support from partners, including the Governments of Poland and Germany, as well as UNICEF National Committees.
Also, the Foundation, with the support of the Czech company MND Group, provided humanitarian aid to 32 large foster families in the Poltava region.
The First Lady of Ukraine, along with her Czech partners and a representative from the Czech Embassy in Ukraine, visited another large foster family, Hryhorii and Nataliia Pichkur. The spouses have seven children: four of them attend a gymnasium, and three attend vocational schools. Caregivers pay special attention to children’s education, growth, and leisure, organizing additional activities, family walks, and active recreation. The Olena Zelenska Foundation, with the support of the Czech company MND Group, transferred household appliances and gadgets necessary for school and everyday life to the family.
“We have always been focused on children who are the future of this country, and who will restore and revive it after the war. Many thanks to the Olena Zelenska Foundation, which has taken over this project and become a trusted partner. Our contribution is the minimum that we, as a business, can make during this challenging wartime for Ukraine. Since helping children knows no limits or boundaries,” Lukash Svozil, CEO of Horyzonty LLC/MND Ukraine, notes.
