Ukrainian Refugee Children’s Lives Are Better Because of a Benefactor They’ve Never Heard of

Brendan Morrissey, an Irish tech entrepreneur with dyslexia and ADHD, thrives in a world that often feels like a whirlwind. "People like me can get overwhelmed pretty easily," he confesses. But when Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, "overwhelming" took on a whole new meaning.

Morrissey was in Dubai when the news broke. It was shattering: For him the invasion was deeply personal because his developing company had employed Ukrainian software engineers for two decades. These men and women had helped him build over twenty projects to benefit people around the world. His Ukrainian employees had become more than employees—they were family.

Morrissey felt he had to act. He immediately flew to Bucharest, in Romania, about 40 miles from the Ukrainian border. There, he began organizing trucks at the border to help refugees fleeing the war-torn nation.

But for him, that wasn’t enough. He began thinking about the refugee children. As someone who has used his resources to build education platforms, Morrissey was particularly sensitive to the needs of children impacted by the growing humanitarian crisis. “I tried to put myself in the children’s shoes,” he says. “I imagined what it would be like to be forced to flee from violence, destruction, and losing loved ones.”

He was also torn by his awareness of the psychological and emotional toll that war brings. He thought about what it would be like to be uprooted from school and friends and forced to move to a new country and assimilate into a new culture. And then he, as he says, “had a eureka moment.”

“I own a UK-based education company, eSchools,” he said. “Why not use it to help displaced Ukrainian children?"

When he landed back home in Ireland, he called officials on the eSchools team and announced: “We’re going to re-work our on-line eSchools! We’re going to create Ukraine School. We’ll make use of everything that children need, like languages, messaging, homework, activities, and calendar.” He added, “And we’re going to give it away, for free!”

There was a long pause. “I think they must have thought I had completely lost my mind,” remembers Morrissey. However, after the people on the other end of the line had time to think about it, they were all on board, and each gave him some version of, “Yes! Let’s do it!”

Thus, part of eSchools was repurposed to offer free education to displaced Ukrainian kids. His software engineers created a version of the eSchools program so that a Ukrainian student in any country in the world could type words in Ukrainian and instantly see translations in any of 50 languages. The platform quickly grew and is currently used in over 500 schools across eight different countries.

The program’s translation capabilities allow children not just to do homework but to make friends and connect with teachers. The instant language translation feature helps mitigate the loneliness and isolation these children might otherwise feel as they process the trauma of leaving their homes behind.

Morrissey’s eSchool employees quickly came on board but convincing business partners involved in other projects was an even bigger challenge. One of the major issues was that several of them wanted him to move their software development operations out of Ukraine. Naturally, they were concerned about running a company in a war zone. However, Morrissey remained steadfast, ensuring his teams in Ukraine were supported, paid, and their jobs were secure.

One of the reasons he insisted on keeping development operations in Ukraine was, "If the tech industry had left Ukraine their economy would have been devastated.”

Operating under siege conditions—blackouts, working in tunnels, constant Wi-Fi disruptions—was tough. But Morrissey believed in his Ukrainian colleagues. "If anyone could get through this, they could."

Because Morrissey is both neurodiverse and modest, he would likely resist being characterized this way. It was Mahatma Gandhi who said, "In a gentle way, you can shake the world." Morrissey’s actions probably won’t shake the world, but they’re likely to better the lives of countless Ukrainian refugee children who will never know his name.