Children should rest in the summer, but this summer has become special for everyone. Because of the war, millions of Ukrainian women and children left Ukraine and now stay in the European Union countries, and most of all in Poland.
New living conditions, stress and uncertainty negatively affected the education process already complicated by the war. Additionally the previous two years with distance learning due to the pandemic were a serious challenge for children and teachers. Therefore in 2022 Ukrainian families are faced with the issue of children’s education in a crisis situation, reinforced by problems with education during the pandemic. That is why there was a need to organise a solid systematic help for children to catch up or repeat the school programme, as well as to motivate them to study further.
The Eastern European Reformation Foundation in cooperation with the local evangelical The God’s Light Church started a charitable summer educational project for Ukrainian children in Lublin (Poland). Among the refugees were teachers who agreed to help children to improve their knowledge in main school subjects.
The Summer Educational Project is not a school in the usual format. This is a 2-month programme for refugees with the aim to prepare children to continue their education according to the Ukrainian school program in September (distance learning) or be equipped to start attending schools in a foreign country. During this period school-age children can improve their knowledge of such educational disciplines as Ukrainian language and literature, mathematics and other exact sciences, history of Ukraine, foreign languages. Also, as a part of a Project, were held special classes for younger schoolchildren. Training takes place in small groups and individually, which is optimal for the most effective assimilation of knowledge.
In addition, children can develop their musical talents, play sports and rationally understand the basics of the Christian faith (an apologetic Bible club for teenagers “Reasonable faith” operates during the educational project). They study, communicate, play, discuss. This is a new experience for everyone: children, parents, teachers, and we have positive expectations that the time spent together will help refugees recover morally and psychologically, see God’s mercy, find optimism and joy even against the background of not always happy news from Ukraine.