Dear colleagues!
My name is Anna Gorbach, I am a representative of the Waldorf initiative "My Wings", the city of Zaporizhia. Our initiative works in the city which is close to the front line and is in dire need of support. My colleagues and I want to share with you the story of our development.
The initiative began its work in January 2022. We had bold plans for development, but the outbreak of war forced us to change our work format and plans for further development. Many children and families have gone because of the war. At first, when we hoped for a quick end of the war, we conducted training online, then in the summer we organized a day camp for children, and in September 2022 we assembled a mixed class for offline training. The fall of 2022 was very difficult for our city – Zaporizhzhia was subjected to rocket attacks almost every night, one of these attacks was the destruction of the building we rented for training before the war. Due to the activity of enemy attacks, some of our students have left for the second time. At that time, there were only 3 students left with us and we decided to conduct training on a volunteer basis in an apartment that belonged to the family of one of our teachers. In this way, we worked until February 2024.
In 2024, due to a significant deterioration in the security situation in Zaporizhia, we were forced to leave the premises where classes with children were held, and later this building was damaged during another shelling.
Until 2025, we maintained our Waldorf circle and held free classes and workshops in city libraries. But this did not give us the opportunity to qualitatively implement the ideas of Waldorf pedagogy in our community and attract new families to it.
In 2025, our teachers completed their training at the Waldorf seminar and a decision was made to continue the initiative as the Waldorf kindergarten "My Wings". A building was rented in the safest area of the city and in November 2025 the kindergarten began its work. From the first day, children came to us. Children who live their childhood under explosions and air raids, the parents of many children are now at the front. We met the families who were not familiar with Waldorf pedagogy before, but having felt its therapeutic value, they chose our kindergarten.
Currently, 6 children attend our kindergarten. Parental contributions cover our costs of maintaining the premises and taxes, but do not allow us to provide even the minimum salary for our teachers. Now it's just the two of us are working, the same people who started the initiative in 2022. We do not plan to stop our work, but the financial situation of our teachers would like to be better.
Therefore, we are forced to address to our colleagues from the international community with a request for financial support for our educators.
You can follow our activities on social media pages.
https://www.facebook.com/share/1GvfDvcdUd/
https://www.instagram.com/moikryla.zp?igsh=MWwzaTdwaXdidHhqcA==
With respect and gratitude, the team of the Zaporizhzhia Waldorf Initiative "My Wings".
Contact details: Anna Gorbach, +380502318336 (WhatsApp, Telegram), e-mail: mwings@ukr.net