MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
September is usually the start of the school year in Ukraine, but as Russia's full-scale invasion nears its fourth year, about 2 million students are still displaced. With more than 3,500 schools destroyed, Ukraine's teachers and students have been driven underground, literally.
NATALIA HUTARUK: These schools, they are built 8 or 10 meters underground. So it means that they are safer for students to stay there during the air alerts.
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
That's Natalia Hutaruk (ph). She teaches at one of those underground schools in Zaporizhzhia about 20 miles from the front line. She says her school is made of concrete. It's always cold. The daily sirens warning of Russia's bombings disrupt their routine, and it was a lot for the students to get used to the new school.
HUTARUK: When they need to go underground with no sunshine, with no natural light, it feels very frightening.
FADEL: Bringing in flowers and toys warm the place up a bit. And when students can't make it to the school because of Russian strikes, they're equipped for remote learning.
HUTARUK: During these attacks, we use Zoom. We use Google Meet. We use telephone.
MARTIN: Hutaruk will bring her story to the United Nations General Assembly in New York today, highlighting how Ukraine is keeping education alive amid war. It will feature Ukraine's first lady, Olena Zelenska, and nongovernmental organizations helping in Ukraine.
FADEL: Zoya Lytvyn is with the co-organizing NGO Osvitoria, which helped Ukraine set up a nationwide online education platform that specializes in microlearning.
ZOYA LYTVYN: So if one lesson in typical school would be 45 minutes, in this online school, we would divide lesson into three, sometimes four subtopics and make interactive videos for kids.
MARTIN: Despite Ukraine's resilience, Lytvyn says the international community could step up and help more by donating money, devices, educational software and even knowledge. Teacher Natalia Hutaruk says it's crucial that the world not see Ukrainians as victims.
HUTARUK: I should say that our children, they are more mature than their age. And they should need a chance to use this experience, to use this knowledge, and actually also to help the global community.
FADEL: Hutaruk says it will make young Ukrainians better global citizens if they can survive this war.
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