'Their lives collided with war': Ukrainian refugees in Poland open their own schools
In recent weeks, some Ukrainians in Warsaw have opened their own schools to let displaced children finish the school year in their own language and according to their own education system.
The halls at the new Warsaw Ukrainian School (SzkoUA), in Warsaw, Poland, are already lined with all kinds of student artwork. One drawing shows Ukrainian Easter bread. Another holiday-themed picture reads, “Stop War,” in English and Polish.
The over 200 students in grades one through 11 fled some of the most dangerous spots in Ukraine: Mariupol, Kharkiv, Bucha and Irpin.
The school’s director, Oksana Kolesnyk, herself escaped bombings in Chernihiv with her daughter, who is in fourth grade, on March 6.
“These children who are studying here, truly their problem is that their lives collided with war,” Kolesnyk said.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24 interrupted the school year for millions of Ukrainian children who still had three months left. Polish schools have opened their doors to these students, but many parents say that they still want their children to get a Ukrainian education.
So, in recent weeks, some Ukrainians in Warsaw have opened their own schools to let these displaced children finish the school year in their own language and according to their own education system.
Listen at The World.