Ukraine is facing a profound animal welfare challenge. Data from animal welfare organizations places the country among the world's top 10 for stray animal populations, while the full-scale war has made the crisis significantly worse: since 2022, the number of animals in shelters has increased by approximately 60%.
A lack of basic knowledge about animals' needs, responsible pet care, and humane treatment contributes to neglect, abandonment, and cruelty. Research cited by the Humane Society of the United States has also highlighted the connection between animal cruelty and interpersonal violence: 76% of animal abusers were also violent toward family members, while animal abusers were found to be five times more likely to commit violent crimes against people. For Suziria Group, a leading Ukrainian pet care business, and UAnimals, one of Ukraine's leading animal rights organizations, this pointed to a clear need: to address the problem at its roots, in childhood, before harmful attitudes and behaviors toward animals are formed.
Our objective was to systemically integrate humane education into Ukrainian schools, making animal welfare, responsible pet care, empathy, and volunteering part of children's learning.
We created Humane Education and Volunteering: a scalable educational ecosystem built around flexible, ready-to-use lesson kits for different age groups. Designed to make adoption easy for teachers, the materials can be integrated into subjects ranging from biology and environmental science to English and literature. Whatever the subject, every lesson works toward the same goal: fostering empathy and a sense of responsibility for their wellbeing.
Our strategy was built around one simple insight: empathy develops through continuous learning, practical experience, and repeated positive interactions with animals - not through a single lesson. To create lasting change, humane values needed to become part of children's everyday education.
Suziria Group contributed its expertise in responsible pet care, animal wellbeing, and the pet care industry, while UAnimals brought extensive experience in animal protection and humane education. Together with teachers, educational methodologists, and digital specialists, we transformed this expertise into an educational ecosystem aligned with Ukraine's national curriculum and the principles of the national educational standards.
At the heart of the project is a dedicated online platform offering 14 ready-to-use lesson kits for students in grades 1–9. Each lesson includes presentations, student workbooks, teacher guidelines, and practical activities, enabling educators to introduce humane education without additional preparation or specialized expertise.
A key strategic decision was designing the materials as flexible lesson constructors that fit into different school subjects. Teachers can integrate them into biology, environmental science, Ukrainian and English language, literature, arts, technology, health education, and civic education. This interdisciplinary approach allows students to encounter the principles of animal welfare, empathy, and responsible pet care across different learning contexts throughout the school year.
Another cornerstone of the project is the "Knowledge + Action" methodology. Every lesson combines theory with practical experience, encouraging students to apply what they learn through volunteering, supporting shelters, promoting adoption, organizing school initiatives, protecting biodiversity, and helping animals affected by war. By connecting classroom learning with meaningful action, students develop empathy as a practical life skill rather than an abstract concept.
To ensure nationwide adoption, we complemented the educational materials with an online platform, a chatbot for teachers, and a professional development program that provides certified training for educators. The lessons have been officially approved by Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science, allowing schools to use them within the educational process. To further expand accessibility, the materials are distributed through leading professional development platforms where Ukrainian teachers regularly search for teaching resources, elective courses, and classroom activities.
The project brings together education, animal welfare expertise, and volunteering into one scalable model that can be adopted by schools across the country. By embedding humane education into the existing education system and equipping teachers with practical tools, we are creating long-term opportunities for children to develop empathy, responsible pet ownership, and respect for all living beings.
The project's uniqueness lies in its institutional impact. Humane Education and Volunteering is the first CSR initiative in Ukraine, created by a private company in partnership with an animal rights organization, to receive official approval from Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science for a comprehensive series of humane education lessons. The approved materials can be officially used by schools as recommended educational resources and integrated into extracurricular learning and classroom activities across the country.
Our most important result was turning humane education from an independent initiative into content officially approved for use in Ukrainian schools.
The project created 14 interactive lessons for primary and middle school students that received official approval from Ukraine's Ministry of Education and Science. This means the materials can be formally used by teachers in schools and integrated into the educational process across subjects - an essential step toward our objective of making animal welfare part of children's everyday learning.
We then focused on adoption and scale. The materials are available through our dedicated online platform and are promoted through educational and professional development platforms used by Ukrainian teachers, embedding humane education into the ecosystem where educators already seek training and teaching resources. Nearly 1,000 teachers have completed the training and received professional development certificates, creating a growing network of educators equipped to bring animal welfare into their classrooms.
The impact has already moved beyond lessons. More than 4,000 children have participated in practical humane and environmental projects, applying their knowledge through activities supporting animals, shelters, responsible pet care, and volunteering.
For us, success is in building an infrastructure through which humane education can continue reaching new classrooms, teachers, and generations of students.
Media coverage and social media conversations generated more than 1 million organic impressions, amplifying the project's message and bringing humane education to audiences far beyond participating schools.
