Educational startup Clanbeat has expanded to Ukraine in collaboration with humanitarian aid organisation Mondo to introduce a new mental health solution to the country. The company has reported that 25 Ukrainian schools have already joined the initiative.

Using Clanbeat’s solution, the mental well-being of school families in the Zhytomyr region will be mapped, providing a better overview of the impact of the war on the mental well-being of young people and school staff, and connecting them with the most suitable support services.

“The war has led the people of Ukraine into a mental health crisis, with every fifth Ukrainian in a difficult condition. We are talking about nearly ten million people who, in addition to dealing with the consequences of the war, also have to cope with depression, anxiety, or more complex disorders such as psychosis,” said Mondo’s Ukraine project manager Viktoria Ishkina.

At the same time, there is no clear picture in the country of the exact condition of students and school staff and how to best support them. “By using Estonian digital solutions in cooperation with local partners, we can ensure effective assistance while also reducing the burden on schools. It is important to bring together existing quality local support services and those in need, especially concerning the most vulnerable group, the younger generation of Ukraine,” said Ishkina.

“We are talking about nearly ten million people who, in addition to dealing with the consequences of the war, also have to cope with depression, anxiety, or more complex disorders such as psychosis.”
Viktoria Ishkina, Mondo’s Ukraine project manager

Representatives of 25 schools in Zhytomyr involved in the project had their first opportunity to use the Clanbeat method at an introductory seminar held on June 18.

“At the meeting, it was evident that school leaders and support staff constantly take responsibility for the well-being of others and do so very eagerly. At the same time, we were also able to map the condition of the 50 participants themselves during the meeting, and it turned out that 60% of them experienced low mental well-being. This is very important knowledge that school staff also need more support than before,” said Clanbeat partner Triin Noorkõiv.

The Estonian digital solution was also welcomed by the head of the Zhytomyr Department of Education and Science, Natalia Osipovych, who said that Ukrainian teachers need a lot of support to effectively support their students during the war. “Supporting students’ mental health in Ukraine is more important today than ever before, but teachers do not have the necessary skills and knowledge to respond to the current situation,” said Osipovych.

Starting this fall, 25 schools in the Zhytomyr region will begin using Clanbeat’s solution. From August to November, mental well-being assessments will be conducted, and an overview of reliable and effective local services will be compiled, which will then be offered to schools based on the assessment results. The activities are carried out in cooperation with Mondo, Clanbeat, and the local partner Alliance of Resilience, with the support of ESTDEV, the Estonian Center for International Development Cooperation.

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