Underprivileged youth that suffered from war is on a way to build new life with IT education
Our member HerbonSoft is a sister organisation of Herbon IT Academy.
Lviv, Ukraine, October 12th – around 50 underprivileged youth, including orphans, semi-orphans, and the ones who suffered from Russian invasion, started their new life today. This became possible with Hebron IT Academy, which has been providing free education for underprivileged youngsters in Ukraine since 2016. The students that join an offline educational program (around 30 people this year) are also provided with housing, food, psychological support, and later internships at IT companies.
The young people are mostly from Eastern, Southern and Central parts of Ukraine, including places temporarily occupied by Russia. Enriko and Emanuel are two brothers raised by a single mother whose father, foreign sailor, disappeared from their lives when they were babies. They are from the Kherson region which is temporarily occupied right now. On the first day of the war, they had to leave their home and move to their acquaintances where they stayed for 3 months in a small apartment. When they first heard about the Hebron program, they decided to apply immediately. After a difficult 2-week evacuation, they finally arrived to Hebron, safe and sound. Another student, Serhiy, is an orphan who first lived and studied in a boarding school in Severodonetsk, which is also temporarily occupied now. He then moved to now occupied Luhansk high-school,and then landed in Kharkiv University. When heavy shelling started, he was evacuated to Dnipro where Serhiy learned about the Hebron program.
Representatives of the Ukrainian Ministry of Digital Transformation, Director of Economic Department of Lviv Regional Military (State) Administration, first Deputy Mayor of Lviv city, Director of IT Association and others joined the opening ceremony online and offline to greet and support students.
The CEO of the Academy, Ihor Ilvutchenko, who is from Mariupol, said: “We believe that today we are building our future. These students are our future, who in return will help similar underprivileged young people like them and will support Ukraine on economic development.”
About the educational program
Hebron IT Academy is a 1-year long program that comprises intellectual (with focus on IT education), spiritual and physical development. In terms of IT as their main focus, students learn Programming, UI/UX, QA and Project Management directions. On average, the students spend 40 hours a week focusing on their studies. The program also includes English classes with native speakers, Ukrainian language and history, and project work.
About Hebron IT Academy
Started in 2016, the academy is a non-governmental, non-for-profit organization that provides free education in the field of IT to orphans, semi-orphans and young people who have suffered as a result of Russian aggression or found themselves in other difficult life circumstances. Hebron provides them with housing, food, social support, and internships in IT companies. The academy exists with the help of donors from individuals to companies, with HebronSoft, sister organization, to be the main financial supporter. Hebron IT Academy is always open for any type of partnerships or support.
