In Chernivtsi, they began creating an Israeli ‘Recovery Space’ for children: the SASA Setton project with the support of the Barzilai Medical Center in Ashkelon

In the children’s hospital of Chernivtsi, the creation of a special space is beginning, where hospitalized children can continue to study, engage in creativity, receive psychological support, and at least temporarily stop feeling like just patients. The Ukrainian charitable foundation ‘Heritage of the Future’ is implementing the project together with the Israeli organization SASA Setton with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel.

The start of practical work on the project on July 16, 2026 was announced by the team of the charitable foundation ‘Heritage of the Future’.

The future facility has been named ‘Recovery Space’ (Ukr. – Простір відновлення). It is being created directly in the children’s hospital of Chernivtsi and is intended to combine education, creativity, art therapy, psychological assistance, and modern approaches to accompanying a child during treatment.

This is not an ordinary playroom or a one-time transfer of computers or board games. The project is based on the Israeli model of continuous education, according to which hospitalization should not completely exclude a child from normal life.

Childhood should not stop because of hospitalization

For a child, staying in a hospital means not only medical procedures.

Even with successful treatment, they may be cut off from school, routine, friends, teachers, and normal communication for a long time. During the war, this is compounded by air raids, the consequences of Russian strikes, forced relocation, loss of home, and a constant sense of uncertainty.

The ‘Recovery Space’ should become a place where a child can not only undergo treatment but also learn, draw, play, engage in creativity, develop new skills, and receive the necessary emotional support.

According to the foundation, the facility is planned to be equipped with modern equipment, educational games, and developmental materials. Creative activities, art therapy, and professional psychological assistance are planned for young patients.

A separate part of the project is the training of medical staff. Hospital employees must undergo training with Israeli specialists and become familiar with methods of working with children who are in medical institutions for a long time.

The founder of the ‘Heritage of the Future’ foundation, Pavel Feldblum, formulated the main idea of the project as follows:

“Our main goal is to ensure that even during hospitalization, childhood is not put on pause.”

According to him, the space should help children feel safe, be less afraid of treatment, and maintain the opportunity to live a full life even during a difficult period.

The foundation’s publication does not yet specify the official name of the Chernivtsi hospital, the specific department, the area of the premises, or the exact opening date. Therefore, it is about the beginning of the creation of the center, not an already completed project.

From official decision to on-site work

The publication from July 16 became a continuation of a broader Israeli initiative to develop hospital education in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel previously reported that new educational centers for hospitalized children will be created in Chernivtsi and Bila Tserkva. The program involves SASA Setton, the Center for Jewish Impact, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, and the Embassy of Israel in Ukraine.

Thus, the project has several levels of partnership.

The Israeli side provides methodologies, educational experience, and ensures professional support.

The ‘Heritage of the Future’ charitable foundation organizes the implementation of the initiative in Chernivtsi and interaction with the local hospital.

The medical institution provides the premises and staff who will subsequently work with the children.

NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency notes that the foundation’s announcement is important as a sign of the transition from diplomatic announcement to practical work. If earlier there was talk of expanding the Israeli program, now the direct creation of the space in Chernivtsi has begun.

How the Israeli SASA Setton model works

SASA Setton is an Israeli educational and social organization specializing in helping children undergoing treatment in hospitals.

The organization was founded in 2009 by Philip and Hilda Setton. It collaborates with the Ministry of Education of Israel and educational centers at hospitals throughout the country.

Today, SASA Setton programs cover about 140,000 children in 41 Israeli hospitals. The organization works in regular multidisciplinary hospitals, psychiatric and rehabilitation institutions, as well as in centers for the care of severely ill patients.

SASA Setton develops programs specifically adapted for hospitalized children. They take into account age, physical condition, duration of treatment, and the child’s ability to participate in activities.

One patient may work with a computer or assemble a robot, another may engage in drawing, and a third may receive short individual assignments directly in the ward. For some children, the main result is not even the continuation of the school program, but the ability to reduce anxiety and regain interest in the world around them.

The Israeli model assumes that not just a class is created at the hospital, but an entire educational environment. It may include:

• computers, tablets, and digital programs;
• a library and educational materials;
• robotics and technology classes;
• drawing, music, and other forms of creativity;
• educational and board games;
• individual work with the child;
• emotional and psychological support.

The organization also trains teachers, instructors, and hospital staff. This allows the space to operate continuously and not depend solely on periodic visits from foreign specialists.

Chernivtsi will be accompanied by the ‘Barzilai’ hospital in Ashkelon

A feature of the project is that the future center in Chernivtsi should receive a professional partner in Israel.

According to the announcement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel, it will be accompanied by the educational center at the medical center ‘Barzilai’ in Ashkelon. Israeli specialists are expected to assist with staff training, methodology transfer, and organization of the space’s work.

The choice of ‘Barzilai’ has a separate significance.

The hospital is located in southern Israel and has been operating for many years under conditions of rocket attacks, emergencies, and mass admissions of casualties. Its staff understands well how to support children when the medical institution itself operates under threat conditions.

This experience is relevant for Ukraine, where hospitals continue to receive patients during air raids, energy crises, and Russian strikes.

The project involves the transfer of not only equipment but also a system of work. It is the professional support that distinguishes long-term partnership from ordinary humanitarian supply.

Odessa became the first Ukrainian example

Chernivtsi is not the first city in Ukraine where the SASA Setton model is applied.

The first such educational center was opened on September 7, 2023 at the Odessa Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital. This medical institution receives about 700 children a day.

The Odessa space was equipped with computers, tablets, games, and educational software translated into Ukrainian.

The project was created under extremely difficult conditions. Organizers had to continue working during Russian strikes on Odessa, air raids, and power outages. Despite this, the center was opened and began accepting children.

The experience of Odessa showed that a hospital educational space can operate even during a full-scale war.

Now this model is being expanded to Chernivtsi and Bila Tserkva. In the future, organizers allow for the opening of such centers in other regions of Ukraine.

What the project gives to children and Ukraine

In wartime conditions, education in the hospital becomes part of recovery.

It is important for a child not only to receive medical care but also to maintain a connection with normal life. A school assignment, a drawing, a computer game, a conversation with a teacher, or the opportunity to do something with their own hands helps restore a sense of control and safety.

For Ukraine, this project also means the emergence of a new professional model for working with hospitalized children.

If the system develops, such spaces can become a permanent part of children’s hospitals — with specially trained staff, adapted programs, and international exchange of experience.

For Israel, the initiative is an example of practical assistance based on its own experience of living under rocket threats and operating medical institutions during emergencies.

NAnews — Israel News | Nikk.Agency considers the creation of the center in Chernivtsi as one of the most substantial formats of Israeli-Ukrainian cooperation.

There is no symbolic gesture here that ends after the official ceremony. Israeli organizations are transferring to Ukraine knowledge, methodologies, and infrastructure capable of working for years.

The foundation has not yet named the completion date, budget, and final list of equipment. However, the main thing has already happened: the project has moved from the stage of official statements to the creation of a real space in the children’s hospital.

For the young patients of Chernivtsi, it should become a place where between tests, procedures, and doctor visits, normal life reappears — learning, playing, creativity, support, and a child’s smile.