“I considered my country to be one of the most peaceful places in the world,” says Olena Umanets, a Ukrainian teacher. But the armed clashes in Ukraine, which left nearly 8,000 people dead over the past 18 months, shocked her awake. She wanted to make a difference. But in an atmosphere of such deep national and political conflict, what can one teacher hope to accomplish? “Every person has to do his [or her] own duty,” states Umanets, who, as an educator, was inspired to “teach young people—future leaders or soldiers—how to settle disputes in a positive, constructive way.”
“I considered my country to be one of the most peaceful places in the world,” says Olena Umanets, a Ukrainian teacher. But the armed clashes in Ukraine, which left nearly 8,000 people dead over the past 18 months, shocked her awake.
