The first year of the “Staying with Ukraine” project has ended. We are sincerely grateful to everyone involved: participants for their activity, parents for believing in our project and constantly being in touch, and teachers for not stopping despite all the challenges and providing quality education.
A few numbers.
From September 2022 to May 2023, about 1,320 students participated in the project. These are 74 study groups. And also 47 educators. In total, 7,080 lessons were held, and more than 300 certificates of participation were issued to students. The project covered over 20 countries, including Great Britain, Germany, Poland, the Baltic states, the USA, Canada, Scandinavian countries, and many others, where Ukrainians found refuge from the war.
The main goal of “Staying with Ukraine” was to preserve children’s connection with their native language and culture. Teachers moved away from formal education and used the latest methods. In particular, this was due to the utterly remote format of work and the children’s stay in stressful conditions because leaving home is not always easy. Lessons of the Ukrainian language, literature, and history allowed schoolchildren to feel at home, even briefly and gave them hope that when they return to their native schools, they will not fall behind the program.
There were no assessments in the project. The students had four tests, which it was not necessary to pass. However, the children were tested on their own initiative to determine their level of knowledge.
In addition to the main lessons, there were also creative activities: Day of Dignity, Christmas and New Year celebrations in other countries, familiarization with calendar and ceremonial traditions of Ukrainians, and celebration of Vyshyvanka Day. The children willingly participated in each of them: they made crafts, painted eggs, baked spring ritual cookies —”larks,” sent their beautiful photos in embroidered shirts.
As a result, we held a kind of graduation for project participants. For students of grades 5-7, a Ukrainian studies quiz and a master class on making origami with teacher Maria Uyemova-Kosova were held. And for high school students, together with the writer Tanya Stus, they met with modern Ukrainian children’s writers: Sashko Dermanskyi, Oksana Lushchevska, Olha Kupriyan. The children were delighted. And for one of the participants, the meeting with Sashko Dermanskyi, the author of her favorite childhood book, “The Wonderful Monster,” became a dream come true! Also, our teachers recorded video greetings for each group, and we distributed these videos to the students.
We have received an overwhelming amount of feedback from children, parents, and teachers. We are sincerely grateful for every message and photo because they motivate us to improve and assure us that we have chosen the right path.
The project “Stay with Ukraine” has been extended for the next academic year. You can register here.
The project “Stay with Ukraine” is implemented by the NGO “Smart Osvita” with the support of Theirworld, Global Business Coalition for Education, Educo Foundation.
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