Support of Curative Education in the Ukraine

On 2 December 2019 the “Association for the development of anthroposophical curative education in the Ukraine” was dissolved at the Sonnenhof in Arlesheim (CH).

It was founded 19 years ago on 12 February 2000 by committed Sonnenhof staff and colleagues from the Ukraine with the aim of establishing institutions for anthroposophical curative education in the Ukraine. It was nice to see that eight founding members of the association were able to be present even when the association was dissolved.

Twenty years ago, in the context of support for the Waldorf School in Kiev, the question arose more and more as to whether an initiative would not also be needed for children in need of support. A question in this regard was always answered by official bodies to the effect that there were no children with disabilities in Ukraine. It was only after a long time and many trust-building meetings that two Sonnenhof employees were invited to visit institutions for children with disabilities. Barbara Hasselberg (formerly responsible for training at the Sonnenhof) and Dr. Erdmut Schädel (former doctor at the Sonnenhof) are still shocked by the pictures they saw. These strengthened the decision to initiate curative education in the Ukraine and to enable the foundation of a curative education school in Kiev.

With great personal and also financial commitment, many trips to the Ukraine and the support of a wide circle of people, both goals could be realized. Today, the three-year training in Kiev is recognised by the Council and started last autumn with the eighth training course. Alongside the school in Kiev there are some smaller initiatives which put anthroposophical curative education into practice under sometimes very difficult circumstances. The activities of the association were financed on the one hand by donations, on the other hand the Sonnenhof Hilfsverein has generously supported the work over the years with several hundred thousand francs.

Special thanks are due to Barbara Hasselberg, who has managed the association over all these years, collected donations, activated colleagues and also made practical contributions to the work in Ukraine. She was the soul and heart of the association, initiated and carried out many projects.

In recent years, however, it has become increasingly clear that colleagues in the Ukraine were no longer dependent on support and help to the same extent, and in addition, hardly any younger people were enthusiastic about participating in the association. The integration of the initiatives in Ukraine into the Council is granted, so that the supporting of the initiatives in Ukraine will continue in a different form.

Andreas Fischer, Rehetobel, 11 December 2019