Three More Large Foster Families Received New Homes Through the Olena Zelenska Foundation’s Room for Childhood Project

This week, three large foster families in the Dnipropetrovsk and Cherkasy regions received new homes built as part of the Olena Zelenska Foundation’s Room for Childhood project.

First Lady of Ukraine Olena Zelenska visited one of these families—the Kolesnikovs—on the day they moved to the city of Zolotonosha. Denys and Daria became foster parents in 2019, and the family now has the status of a family-based care home. The couple is raising eight children.

The Kolesnikovs’ new house is barrier-free and energy-efficient, includes a shelter, and is fully furnished and equipped with essential household appliances.

“When we launched the Room for Childhood project, our primary goal was to help large foster families who had lost their homes or were forced to leave them because of the war. Over time, we expanded the project to support families willing to take in more children but lacking adequate housing. Today, Room for Childhood helps both those who need a new home and those to whom a new home will give an opportunity to expand their families. After all, our task is not only to support large foster families but also to create conditions for more children to grow up in families,” Olena Zelenska noted.

Two additional large foster families moved into new homes in the Dnipropetrovsk region this week.

Olha Shyoshvili and Kostiantyn Kott are raising six children. The large family was running out of space in their previous home. They now have a new home equipped to meet the needs of the whole family.

Svitlana and Leonid Kondratiuk became foster parents in 2023. Later, the couple became family-type home parents to be able to take in more children. Now they are raising four children, but their previous house was too small to expand their family.

In partnership with A.P. Moller Relief Foundation, the Foundation built houses for both families in the Dnipropetrovsk region.

The house in the Cherkasy region was built with support from the government of the United Arab Emirates, one of the Room for Childhood project’s first partners. In total, the UAE supported the construction of 20 houses for large foster families in Ukraine.

To date, 27 large foster families across Ukraine have received new housing.