Ukraine: Starting with the youngest — how DRC raises awareness of mine risks

Despite the brightly painted walls and the presence of ventilation pipes, after half an hour in a school shelter, you begin to feel suffocated. Dozens of children sit in a windowless room behind thick concrete walls — this is how lessons are often held in Ukraine due to the war and frequent air raids.

This shelter, located near a school in the northern suburb of Kharkiv, is one of those approved to deliver offline classes in Kharkiv Oblast. The pupils, aged six to twelve, have gathered here for a lesson unlike any other. Instead of arithmetic or drawing, they are learning how to recognise mines and what to do if they come across explosive ordnance.

With support from the Danish International Development Agency, DRC’s instructors have been travelling through war-scarred communities to deliver EORE sessions. Because of the months of occupation in 2022 and the heavy shelling that followed, Kharkiv Oblast is one of Ukraine’s regions where even playing outdoors or farming can carry a deadly risk.

Sergiy, an EORE Supervisor at DRC, stresses that the youngest must not be overlooked.

“Children learn quickly,” he explains. “And sometimes they remind their parents. When a child says, ‘Don’t go there, Dad — it’s dangerous,’ it can be more powerful than any leaflet or broadcast.”

The curriculum is distilled into what instructors call the “three golden rules”: don’t touch, don’t approach, call emergency services. For the youngest, the lessons are presented through comics and role-play; for teenagers and adults, the material is more detailed, including guidance on what to do if one finds oneself in a minefield.

Safe distance from unexploded ordnance

Through the project, DRC has reached more than 18,000 people in Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts — roughly half of them children and adolescents. Local authorities provide classrooms and shelter space, while families, initially cautious, often express relief.

“Everyone knows that mines are dangerous,” Sergiy says. “What they don’t know is how far to keep away, or exactly what to do if they see one. That is the knowledge we bring.”

The work is constantly evolving. Trainers gather feedback, refine their methods, and adapt lessons to local contexts.

In some communities, for instance, door-to-door visits bring the message to those too isolated or too anxious to join group sessions.

Children, with their disarming clarity, often prove to be the most perceptive learners. “They notice things adults miss,” Sergiy observes. “They interpret risks in their own way and, sometimes, they show us how to teach better.”

Ukraine’s Ministry of Education has now made mine safety part of the national curriculum. DRC is also equipping teachers with tailored training and ready-to-use materials, ensuring that risk education will continue even after humanitarian workers have moved on.

How do you teach children about mine safety and make it last?

“We often start information sessions with physical activities. This helps us get to know each other and have a chat. Children often say they’ve already had similar lessons on mine safety. I build on that and ask them to help me,” explains Yulia, an EORE Assistant, during one such session.

Trained as a teacher, Yulia finds working with children comes naturally. She admits she is always looking for new ways to engage participants.

“There are different kinds of children. Some, like today, were very active, and it was easy to work with them. But with others, you need to spend more time to spark their interest.”

She stresses that when facilitators use games or comics, the children are more open to engaging.

“For them, it’s something new, something they haven’t experienced before. In class, they approach these issues seriously, of course. Usually, teachers don’t play games with them,” says Yulia.

For Sergiy, this work is not a box-ticking exercise. “Our goal is not simply to inform,” he says, “but to change behaviour. And that takes time, patience, and persistence.”

In classrooms where games soften the harshness of danger, children are learning lessons their parents never had to. Considering the extent of mine contamination in Ukraine, the risks they are being taught to avoid will remain for many years to come.