Oksana Moyseyenko from Sumy oblast, Maryna Kodatska from Kharkiv, Olena Moskalyova from Mykolaiv are teachers of the Ukrainian Language and Literature who despite all the safety challenges and air-raid alerts are helping the Ukrainian children abroad to stay connected with Ukraine through the project “Stay with Ukraine”.
The project was created as a response to the full-scale invasion, and until now it is helping the Ukrainian schoolchildren of grades 5-11 to learn the Ukrainian Language, Literature and History. For the Ukrainian children who are temporarily displaced abroad because of the russian aggression, it is sometimes the only opportunity to continue studying the Ukrainian component and to keep contact with their native land.
We are proud to have such wonderful teachers in our project “Stay with Ukraine,” and we are grateful for your contribution to Ukrainian schoolchildren.
Oksana Moyseyenko, teacher of the Ukrainian Language and Literature, World Literature and Ethnology. Oksana lives in Sumy oblast, in the unbreakable city of Okhtyrka, 30 km from the border with russia. In the first year of the war, we lived through blackouts and the loss of the job, as the school was closed because of its proximity to the border. Oksana joined our project “Stay with Ukraine” two years ago, and she is still cultivating the love of Ukraine to the children. The teacher had to prepare for the lessons during the night, when electricity was not cut off. Now the situation has slightly improved, but there are still safety challenges every day.
“Smart Osvita” projects are really special. First, children need attention in the current difficult times. Second, my mission, as a teacher, is to help them understand what they find difficult to understand. For me, the project “Stay with Ukraine” is aimed at the children who are far from Ukraine, so that they would not feel separated from our Motherland. So that they would know, improve and be proud of their language. And it gives me an opportunity to fulfil myself, to receive new knowledge, to communicate with the children. When I feel that someone could benefit from my work, I forget about all the alerts and immerse myself in the work. For me, the project “Stay with Ukraine” is like a life-saving ring,” says the teacher.
Oksana rightfully notes that the situation is difficult for everyone, and as a wife of a Ukrainian army soldier, she has to support him, and should not get discouraged when he is protecting us. And schoolchildren are helping her in that. When she is in touch with them, she time flies by really fast. The communication with them is really inspiring and empowering, because, as she says, children are our future, and “the future of our country depends on what I give them today.” And care for the family and everyday work really help Oksana to adapt to the modern life.
Maryna Kodatska, teacher of the Ukrainian Language and Literature, lives and teaches in Kharkiv. Despite constant shelling and missile strikes on her native city, she never left it, and is not planning to. In September 2022 she joined our project “Stay with Ukraine”. For two years, she has been teaching Ukrainian 7th, 8th and 9th graders about Ukrainian writers. These children have no opportunity to learn the Ukrainian component in their schools abroad.
“The project “Stay with Ukraine” helps the children from all over the world to keep their connection with their Motherland and their native system of education. I think that this project is really important, as the children say that for them this is their only chance to study their native literature. We talk a lot in class, they like saying what they think and being in the Ukrainian environment. And for me this is an opportunity to gain new experience, to fulfil myself, to be useful to someone and to share my knowledge. I am really inspired by the positive feedback from the children. I am inspired by their emoticons at the end of the lesson, and the hearts on the presentation. They say that they find it interesting and easy to understand”, says the teacher.
As Kharkiv is a frontline city, just 40 km from the russian border, the safety challenges are frequent. For such cases, Maryna says, she always has a charged flashlight torch and a powerbank. If there is no electricity, she joins from her phone via mobile internet. The teacher also always has a downloaded presentation of the lesson in case of blackouts. She says that the main thing in such situations is keep composure and work to the full:
“During the two years of the war we have got used to shelling and electricity cuts, so we are trying to remain calm and in a good mood. What empowers me and helps to recover? I like being in the nature, hiking in the forest, doing sports. I am grateful for the opportunity to work in such a great team.”
Olena Moskalyova lives and works in a grammar school in the frontline Mykolaiv. The city is shelled nearly every day, but air-raid alerts do not stop the teacher. In a specially equipped safe place she continues to cultivate the love for the Ukrainian Language and Literature to schoolchildren. In addition to this, she is also working part-time with the children with special educational needs and is studying at V.O. Sukhomlynsky Mykaloiv National University, majoring in “Specialized education” (defectology, logopedics).
And in the autumn of 2023, Olena joined our project “Stay with Ukraine” and has also been teaching Ukrainian Language and Literature to Ukrainian schoolchildren abroad.
“For me, the value of the project “Stay with Ukraine,” is that students who are abroad must hear their native language, read works of literature. They must know the Ukrainian language, know its grammar and vocabulary. And the main thing for me is that children need my work,” says Olena.
Because of the proximity to the frontline, Mykolaiv is shelled and struck every day, there are frequent air-raid alerts. That is why the teacher received training on how to cope with anxiety, war-related losses. According to Olena, she can find vital resources for life and work in simple things: coffee, sunny weather, her favourite garden etc.
Educators, schoolchildren and their parents can also find useful resources, recommendations and training on resilience on the project “Resilience.Help” portal from NGO “Smart Osvita”.
The project “Stay with Ukraine” was created by “Smart Osvita” for Ukrainian children who temporarily reside abroad because of the russian aggression. These are vibrant online lessons in the Ukrainian Language, Literature and History of Ukraine for children of grades 5-11. In this project students will receive basic knowledge in three disciplines of the Ukrainian component which they cannot study abroad.
The project is implemented with the support of Global Giving within the Program for engagement in civic activities “ENGAGE” (USAID), financed by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by Pact in Ukraine. The content of the project is exclusive responsibility of Pact and their partners and does not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the US government.
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