You know Ukraine is in trouble. Every day, Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine is in the news. Missile strikes on power plants deny regular people electricity and heat in a palace where temperatures stay below freezing even in the daytime. Russian draftees and mercenaries executing Ukrainian prisoners of war. The Russian military eagerly trading hundreds of their soldiers’ lives for a few square yards of territory. Putin repeatedly threatening to use nuclear weapons.
The Ukrainian people have suffered for almost three years, but we don't hear much about it. We can imagine what wartorn lands look like, but we can’t envision how the war affects their lives as vicious invaders creep farther into their homeland. Once in a while, we hear reports about civilians being wounded or killed by Russian long-range attacks on cities and towns. Maybe you’ve seen pictures of masses of people huddled in subway stations. We rarely learn about Ukrainian children. Many Ukrainians have had to leave their homes and their way of life. Do you wonder what it’s like for a kid while your country is actively attacked day after day for over a thousand days?
Obviously, regular activities like going to school have been disrupted. Many schools are in areas with rolling blackouts. Air raids. Evacuations. Forced relocations. Uncertainty. Bad news. Fear. You might think that education is the furthest thing from kids’ minds with all of that going on around them, but it isn't. They thirst for it. Maybe it helps them take their mind off the war. Maybe they want to hang onto how they spent their days before the war. Maybe they sense that getting an education can lead to a better life after the war.
Some schools are in areas taken over by enemy forces. Other schools can’t function normally because they lack teachers, supplies, electricity, etc. And still others seem to be functioning normally but the mental burdens of the war interfere with learning. Many kids in Ukraine are learning online. We all remember COVID and understand that online education isn't great for most students. Here, almost everyone agrees that it’s best for students to be physically in school. But that’s not always an option in Ukraine. So organizations like Svitlo School are helping them supplement whatever schooling they may get with books and lessons from Western countries. The charity ships English-language books to Ukraine and makes them freely available to young people. Last month, it completed its first free lending library–in a bomb shelter. Every day, volunteer teachers from many countries give free lessons to Ukrainian students, many of whom are refugees in other countries, online in English. Will you help support the cause?
Svitlo is doing great work. The variety of lessons provided by teachers from around the world, including America, not only enriches the formal education students may still be able to get where they live, but also introduces them to new subjects and helps them acquire the English skills necessary for Ukraine to continue its journey to joining Western countries in supporting personal freedom and democracy. Please help us educate these amazing kids who are working hard and will one day be social and political leaders who care about our values.
I keep pinching myself to make sure I'm not in a teacher’s dream because of how rewarding the lessons with these delightful and inspiring students have been. Many of them have been forced to leave their homes, some even have to live in foreign countries because of the war. Some students attend class even during blackouts. Almost all of them know people who have lost loved ones in war. Despite these and many other hardships, dozens of kids attend Svitlo classes every day, sometimes late into the evening. They deserve whatever support we can give them. Please help.
About the author: MJ Krogman is a retired teacher of Humanities from New Hampshire. He joined Svitlo School in April 2024 teaching one lesson a week and increasing it over to time to eight. MJ teaches Government, American Studies, Discussion Forum, Case Studies in U.S. History, Media Literacy Workshop, and Social Hour.
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