The Olena Zelenska Foundation Scales Up the “Room for Childhood” Project: New Houses for Large Foster Families
May 12, 2025
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The Olena Zelenska Foundation continues to develop the “Room for Childhood” project, launching a new stage to build houses for large foster families.
During the first stage of construction, the Foundation built 15 houses in 8 regions of Ukraine for large foster families who lost their homes or were forced to leave due to hostilities or occupation. In December 2023, the settlement of families started.
The new stage of the project will focus on supporting the existing large foster families and foster families willing to become them—that is, to take in more children, but needing to enhance and improve their living conditions.
Thousands of Ukrainian families became homeless because of the full-scale war. At the same time, foster and large foster families willing to give a home to even more children need appropriate housing. The Olena Zelenska Foundation scales up the “Room for Childhood” project to support such parents and encourage other families to become large foster families. This is not only a response to a practical need but a call to society that every child deserves a home, care, and a future in a family.
The houses built within the project were created considering the needs of such families. These are barrier-free one-story dwellings of 210 m² area, fully equipped with furniture, household appliances, and everything necessary for a comfortable stay. The adjacent territory contains a playground and a protective shelter built under all established standards.
The project provides children with comfortable housing and contributes to developing family-based care as a sustainable model for supporting childhood in Ukraine.
“It’s not just about providing housing, but also about our vision for the future. A future in which every child must have a family and receive care and support. This is our shared moral responsibility. So, we can build a healthy society where every person feels important, self-confident, and not alone with their problems. And every family should have a place that will become its home, a place of strength—its room for childhood,” the First Lady of Ukraine and founder of the Foundation emphasized.
The “Room for Childhood” project is implemented exclusively thanks to the support provided by international donors and partners: the governments of Estonia and the United Arab Emirates, the Australian Minderoo Foundation, and others.
“We sincerely appreciate the trust and support of our partners and donors. Thanks to them, the “Room for Childhood” project for large foster families became possible and has scaled up today. Now it is especially important to support such families. They take on a challenging mission: to give children a home, care, and support during times of uncertainty and upheaval. “Our task is to do everything possible to ensure that such families have the opportunities and the best conditions for this,” Nina Horbachova, Director of the Olena Zelenska Foundation, noted.
How to join the project:
Existing large foster families, and foster families willing to become them—that is, ready to take in more children—can apply via the link: link.
The form details the participation criteria and conditions.
If you have any additional questions, please contact us by email: [email protected]
For reference:
The Olena Zelenska Foundation is a Ukrainian charitable organization founded by Olena Zelenska, the First Lady of Ukraine, in 2022.
The Foundation implements projects for children, adolescents, and youth in three main areas: family-based care development and support, children’s access to education and development, and psychosocial support for adolescents and youth.
During the years of the full-scale war, partners from over 30 countries joined the Foundation’s projects.
