Anna’s story A laptop is a learning lifeline

When Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine happened in 2022, Anna and her family fled their home on the border of Donetsk region. They left with one small suitcase, leaving everything else behind.

With thousands of Ukrainian schools destroyed or damaged, Anna had to continue her education remotely.

At first she struggled. Anna, now 16, only had a mobile phone and found it difficult to join in with interactive online lessons and complete exercises. But the teenager got a lifeline when an HP laptop was donated to her.

Anna with her mother Lyudmila at a park in Zaporizhzhia.

Her mother Lyudmyla said: “There was no possibility of Anna going to school. But now the laptop lets her keep in constant contact with her teachers and achieve her educational goals.

“It’s so important because it gives young people the opportunity to join lessons. Not only can she use it to study, it also helps her communicate with friends, some of whom have gone abroad.”

The family now live in the city of Zaporizhzhia. Lyudmyla said they still experience “constant explosions, with a constant fear of what tomorrow will bring”.

But Anna is focused on her schooling. She loves history and dreams of going into further education.

“I can’t tell you where she wants to go because she keeps it a secret from everyone!” said Lyudmyla.

Anna added: “I do all my homework for all subjects on my laptop, five days a week. I believe that every child should have them.”

All money raised from Theirworld, Your Walk will allow Theirworld to provide HP laptops to other Ukrainian children and teenagers like Anna who are struggling to access education.