On July 1, 2024, the Ukrainian School of Elites signed a Memorandum of Partnership with the GoFriends NGO (GoFriends IT Academy), which provides IT education to orphaned children and implements rehabilitation and development programs for internally displaced persons, veterans and their families, and vulnerable groups.
Where is the organization located and what does it do?
The organization is based in Western Ukraine, in the city of Stryi. Near the town of Morshyn, the community has come together to establish a farm.
People who lost their homes due to Russian aggression are not sitting idle. Everyone works on the farm, growing vegetables, caring for livestock, and building social housing. The GoFriends community has also organized ponds for fish farming and created a small beach in one of them for swimming.
Thanks to the hard work and proactivity of its founders and participants, the organization not only “feeds itself” but also sends its harvest to other centers supporting refugees.
Details about GoFriends
Yevhen Moiseiev, who himself grew up in an orphanage, later established a small IT company as an adult. Having achieved success, he wanted to help other orphans with a desire to grow, pursue IT careers, and become financially independent and responsible citizens.
This led to the creation of an IT academy, GoFriends NGO.
The “friends” initially set up operations in Kyiv near the Zhytomyrska metro station. The academy’s first graduates (a group of 20+ students) successfully found jobs and supported other orphans. The path to scaling and growth lay ahead.
Evacuation in 2022
However, in February 2022 — at the very beginning of the Russian occupation of the Kyiv region — GoFriends, which housed orphans living, studying, and receiving meals at the academy, had to leave the capital saving their lives.
The organization relocated to Western Ukraine. Since then, the IT training school has transformed into a rehabilitation center, encompassing education, farming, and care for internally displaced persons (IDPs) and all in need of rehabilitation.
In partnership with charitable organizations and volunteers, GoFriends remains committed to supporting those in need, including IDPs who lost their homes, elderly individuals, and people with disabilities affected by the war.
During Russia’s aggression, the center has also provided a space for veterans and their families, offering them psychological and physical rehabilitation.
While caring for those in need, the organization continues to build a generation of capable, self-sufficient individuals who are ready to extend a helping hand to others.
Recently, in the city of Stryi, GoFriends revived the GoFriends IT Academy, where they teach orphans and other interested individuals programming, digital design, and other modern skills (such as digital marketing) to help them transition into independent adult life and become financially independent, responsible members of society.
The GoFriends NGO caught our attention with their dedication to serving people and their ability to step beyond comfort zones. Our memorandum with GoFriends outlines collaboration in the fields of psychophysical rehabilitation and IT education.
