Svitlo Reads is a student-led initiative designed to make reading in English more accessible and enjoyable in Ukraine, but here are limited books in English in the standard Ukrainian curriculum, and buying them in Ukraine can be very expensive.

During frequent and prolonged air raids, pupils in Ukraine are often forced to spend many hours in school bomb shelters. To make the time spent in shelters more enjoyable and educational, Svitlo collects books in the UK and installs mini-libraries in the shape of red telephone boxes in Ukrainian schools’ underground shelters.

Another part of Svitlo Reads initiative is training older pupils to deliver online reading lessons to our younger students. They teach pronunciation, explain word meanings, and help build confidence to encourage independent reading. Students discover that reading can be fun.