Our Story
We are a social educational and healing hub in Poltava, Ukraine, created for people whose lives have been disrupted by war: children, teenagers, women, internally displaced families, veterans, and military families.
Lena Mykhailova is an educator by calling with over 20 years of experience. After coordinating the Ukrainian Community at the Kraków Community Center in 2022, she returned to Poltava in mid-2025 to create this hub.
Who We Are
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We combine high quality education, vocational skills, life skills development, professional reorientation and social healing in one safe space. For us, education is more than knowledge. It is a tool for restoring confidence, dignity, agency and quality of life.
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Human dignity and compassion
Safety and trust
Accessibility and fairness
Quality and professionalism
Community and mutual support
Sustainable, long-term changes
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Educational losses among children and teenagers are not temporary and threaten future opportunities.
Teenagers live in uncertainty without tools to speak about themselves, make choices, or imagine the future.
Women often carry economic responsibility for all family members, while having no time nor space for recovery themselves.
Formal services are insufficient, while informal ones are fragmented or inaccessible.
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We track quantitative and qualitative indicators, including participant retention, academic progress, and pre/post-program well-being surveys.
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We are committed to catalysing change at the most fundamental level: the individual. We believe that in focusing on nurturing the individual Ukrainian, that individual will be well-equipped to be a stronger, healthier and more resilient force in supporting and leading their family. Further, that individual, and family, will then be better positioned to serve and rebuild their community.
Short-term impact (6–12 months)
Children and teenagers learn more effectively, are less afraid of making mistakes, and—most importantly—experience stable, low-stress learning.
Young people develop the ability to speak, listen, and work in teams, and gain safe spaces for self-expression.
Women return to active social and personal life.
Anxiety decreases as regularity and predictability re-enter daily routines.
Vibrant, sustainable groups are formed, giving rise to new and meaningful social connections.
Mid-term impact (1–2 years)
Teenagers make more conscious and informed educational choices.
Adults discover new opportunities for employment and personal growth.
Women reclaim active and visible social roles.
The Hub becomes a point of stability and support for the local community.
A culture of mutual support takes root.
Social isolation decreases.
Local leadership grows stronger.
The community becomes more cohesive and resilient.
Long-term impact (3+ years)
Human capital in the region is increased.
A strong culture of solidarity and mutual care is sustained.
A community emerges that is capable of supporting itself even in times of crisis.
A model is fully constructed and tested for replication and scaling to other cities.
OUR TEAM
Lena Mykhailova, Founder & Executive Director
Educator and facilitator of change.
Lena is an educator by calling, a facilitator of change, and a person who deeply believes in the power of community.
Founder of S2S, Lena believes that education can be a form of support, opening new opportunities and helping people take steps toward a better life. She also believes that community becomes a place of strength. With this belief, she is building S2S, together with people.
For over 20 years, Lena worked in education — teaching English and German in schools and universities, leading foreign language departments, and building strong teams and educational programmes.
In 2022, her life changed. Lena moved to Kraków, Poland, where she became the coordinator of the Ukrainian Community Center at the Kocham Dębniki Foundation. She coordinated, listened, negotiated, and supported. She worked with volunteers, international partners, and diplomatic institutions, but above all, with women who, despite profound loss, found the strength to move forward and support others. Together, they created a space that became a second home for thousands of Ukrainian women and children.
It was there that Lena learned the most important lesson: how much a community can transform lives when it is built on empathy, trust, and mutual support. It was there that she understood, more deeply than ever, that community heals.
Lena never stopped teaching. Teaching simply took on a broader meaning — through dialogue, care, shared action, and belief in people.
In mid-2025 Lena returned to Ukraine to create S2S. Her mission is to help people recover, grow, and regain confidence through education and community-based initiatives.
Alla Bugrim, Project Coordinator / Psychologist
Facilitator, organiser and galvaniser.
Alla holds a degree in psychology, practices private counseling, and facilitates therapeutic and women’s circles.
She began organizing Women’s Circles in 2017 — at that time without a degree in psychology, but with a deep desire to make the world a better place. She witnessed how gatherings, meaningful conversations, and genuine attention can truly transform people. Later, she worked in business and marketing, helping companies build authentic brand communications.
•Alla’s experience of emigration became a turning point. She felt firsthand how often Ukrainians underestimated themselves and minimized potential, whilst witnessing incredible resilience.
She increased her commitment to support people to find their inner foundation, confidence, and personal path.
As project coordinator at S2S, she organises educational courses, workshops, and community events focused on personal development, mental health, and social cohesion.
She believes that even in the most difficult circumstances, a person can find a way forward. And that a strong nation begins with an internally strong individual.
Yuliia Trunova, Fundraising & Strategic Development
Creator and builder of psychosocial bridges.
Yuliia is a visionary leader in social development. With over 20 years of experience spanning the public and non-profit sectors, Yuliia has mastered the art of transforming complex social challenges into sustainable, institutional solutions.
Her journey began in public administration, where she spent a decade shaping youth and gender policies for the Poltava region. This foundational period instilled in her a deep understanding of how systemic change is built.
As a long-term coordinator and trainer for UNFPA Ukraine, she spearheaded the development of municipal systems to combat gender-based violence across 53 communities. She created a "Roadmap" for local governments that eventually became a national standard, recognized by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine.
Yuliia’s expertise is backed by an academic background in Public Administration and Psychology. She has collaborated with major international players, including USAID, UNDP, and the Peace Corps, providing expert consultancy on institutional development and inclusive management.
Yuliia brings her extensive experience in grant writing and strategic planning to S2S.
Yuliia is driven by a simple yet powerful conviction: that systemic expertise, paired with empathy, can rebuild not just infrastructure, but the very fabric of society.
OUR BOARD
Cindy Henson - Board Chair
Retired executive, business consultant, author, and humanitarian with four decades of leadership experience across the defense industry, international peace-building, and nonprofit consulting.
Amy Kemp - Board Member
An entrepreneur with a track record of developing and leading high performing teams in global sports marketing and non-profit initiatives.
Phil Peterson - Board Member
Retired actuary and strategic consultant in human resources and risk now dedicated to initiatives in the not-for-profit sector.