Support of the Ukranska Shkola (Ukraine School) in Warsaw, Poland

Background

Poland has absorbed more than 75,000 Ukrainian students into Polish schools. Most were placed in existing Polish schools where the students are taught in the Polish language. When the war broke out and people began flooding into Poland, a group of Ukrainian educators used money from non-profit organizations to open the Ukranska Shkola in just twenty-four days in an unused college building. Three hundred teachers applied for twenty-two positions. Four hundred children applied for 270 slots. And all of them—teachers, staff, and children—were refugees from Ukraine. The first students accepted in the school were from the hottest war zones. They were traumatized, emotionally frozen. But as the weeks went by, they began to open up. Currently, the school has around 950 students, ranging in age from six to eighteen. These days, music fills the classrooms and artwork covers the walls.

The Ukrainian Center for Education Foundation was founded in 2017 by the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine. Their goal is to teach general subjects in the Ukrainian language to the citizens of Ukraine who are permanently or temporarily abroad, and to offer training and support to those in Poland who wish to learn the Ukrainian language. Their purpose is to provide general education to students along with character education, and the formation of key competencies.

From their website:

“The first school year flashed by fast, stormy and impressive. Many ideas have been implemented, many works of teachers, children and parents have been invested. Many interesting people gathered at the school: teachers, writers, folk artists, many active, positive people. We are very happy and sincerely thank everyone for their support, cooperation and help.”

Ukranska Shkola

ul. Zgoda 5, l.5, 00-018 Warszawa, Poland

Phone: +48 729 467 399

Our Donation

For our first project, we wanted to create products to lift the spirits of the students and staff at the Ukranska Schkola. Ukrainian artist Olya Grebennik generously donated her beautiful artwork for our first products, a book bag and sketchbook. Olya is a professional children’s book illustrator known for her upbeat, whimsical, and charming paintings of animals and children. In addition to children’s books and jigsaw puzzles, her works are also in private collections all over the world.

In Olya’s words, “As a creative person I can't imagine my life without fantasies and dreams.”

It is our hope that her work will inspire the same in these special children