Kateryna Bebykh: from losing home to creating her own educational hub

Photo by: NGO "Light of hope"/ Stanislav Pantelei 

Kateryna Bebykh is a native of Kharkiv who worked in education. In 2022, however, Russia’s full-scale invasion in Ukraine forced her to leave her hometown, relocate with her family to Kremenchuk, and later go abroad. After some time, Kateryna returned to Ukraine, to Kremenchuk, and began thinking about ideas for engaging activities for her son: “I needed to find a social bubble for him. That’s how our first educational camps began,” Kateryna recalls.

For an entire year, she organized children’s activities during school holidays and free clubs for internally displaced persons (IDPs) at various locations. Eventually, she made the decision to open her own educational hub.

The "NIZHNA" project as a starting point for a big dream

Photo by: NGO "Light of hope"/ Stanislav Pantelei 

After some time, Kateryna joined the "NIZHNA" project, implemented by the charitable organization “Light of Hope” with technical support from UN Women in Ukraine and funding from the UN Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). The project is aimed at strengthening the socio-economic integration of internally displaced women in host communities. Winning the project became a turning point for Kateryna and opened the way to improving her own hub.

The funding she received allowed Kateryna to purchase essential equipment for the hub — a 3D printer, a programmable construction kit, and a smart portable microscope — which became the foundation of a modern educational space. Thus, “UFO Steam Hub” was created — a place where innovation meets creativity, and where children aged 6 to 14 can attend robotics courses, a mathematics club, an animation and filmmaking club, and a STEAM club.

Inner strength that moves forward

Kateryna has gone through a journey filled with loss, relocation, and uncertainty. Yet it was this very journey that helped her find new meaning and transform her personal experience into a tool for supporting others.

Her story is one of resilience, care, and determination. It is about how a woman, in the conditions of war, managed to create a space that gives children the opportunity to dream and develop, and allows the community to grow.

“UFO Steam Hub” is proof that even in the most difficult times, it is possible to build the future. And every woman who is searching for her own path can find the strength within herself to start anew.

This project is produced by NGO ‘Light of Hope’, funded by The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) with technical support of UN Women Ukraine. The United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) mobilizes critical support for local and grassroots civil society organizations working on women, peace and security and humanitarian action. WPHF is a flexible and rapid financing mechanism supporting quality interventions designed to enhance the capacity of women to prevent conflict, respond to crises and emergencies, and seize key peacebuilding opportunities. 

This publication is produced with funding from the United Nations Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), however, the views expressed and content included does not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.