More than 6.7 million people, mostly women and children, have fled Ukraine since the war broke out six months ago. Soon, these children who have taken refuge in nearby Romania will have school essentials, teachers and a safe learning environment thanks to generous Herald readers. Video / NZ Herald / World Vision
Children who have escaped war-torn Ukraine and taken refuge in nearby Romania will soon have school essentials, teachers and a safe learning environment thanks to generous Herald readers.
Partly funded by the New Zealand Government and World Vision NZ, a year-long education and care programme will start in September.
A New Zealand Herald campaign, launched in March, helped World Vision raise $1.9 million for Ukrainian refugees as part of its $3m campaign, following Russia's invasion of Ukraine six months ago today.
Andy Robinson from World Vision described the new education programme as a "heart project".
"When we told our colleagues in Romania we had the funding to go ahead with the programme there were tears - this is something they really felt was needed," he said.
World Vision was already providing comprehensive help with food and shelter for Ukrainian refugees, but Robinson said there was a gap in giving displaced children the normality of education.
More than 6.7 million people, most of them women and children, have fled Ukraine since the war broke out six months ago.
The educational programme will provide some of those children with teachers and back-to-school materials such as school bags, stationery, and digital devices.
The devices mean students can access Ukraine's Ministry of Education's online curriculum, and will also help isolated children connect with friends and family back in Ukraine and in other countries.
Diana, 9, fled the city of Odesa with her mother Ira, older sister Lisa (19) and her baby nephew, Leonid (6 months old). Photo / World Vision
It will help educate children like nine-year-old Diana, who fled the city of Odesa with her mother and sister for a refugee camp.
"These are children dealing with trauma and distress and the issues from the home environment they are in currently in."
"They are at high risk of exploitation and trafficking and we want to get them into a safe place."
The programme, which costs $1.6 million split between World Vision and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, employs teachers from the Ukraine community in Romania so the children can learn in their own language.
"These are typically women and mums and they have crossed the border without their husbands or family," Robinson said.
"For them, it is a livelihood opportunity, but it is also about bringing them together and supporting them."
"Some of them are dealing with the loss of loved ones, others are unable to contact family back home."
For the children, it is a tiny bit of normality after the impact of the war which has devastated Ukraine.
With close to 15,000 killed so far, it is the world's fastest-growing humanitarian emergency since the Second World War.
"These children have experienced real trauma, so this will create a safe environment from that," Robinson said.
"It's not just putting them back to school, but it is playing with children speaking their own language and having a little bit of normality.
Only 8 per cent of children in Ukraine speak Romanian, so for them to learn in their own language is another way of making them feel comfortable, he said.
The programme was also a way to identify children who were really suffering mentally and emotionally and to provide them with additional counselling and support.
"We want to give them a chance to heal and a chance for hope."
"You have to remember some of these children, because of Covid and then war, have not been at school for three years."
Children in refugee camps need safe places to play. Photo / World Vision
Programme leaders were working with local schools to set up separate classrooms for the students from Ukraine.
They were also providing staff for informal learning centres, which World Vision Romania had set up, to help younger children and those unable to get into a Romanian school.
World Vision Romania had also set up a much larger child protection programme, which provided protection from child traffickers and mental health help to more than 14,000 children.
Trafficking was a real threat for refugees who were vulnerable and often had nowhere to stay.
"There are people doing really amazing things to help the people of Ukraine, but unfortunately there are others who are evil and prey on the most vulnerable."
To help provide life-saving food, water, protection, and more to children fleeing dangerous places like Ukraine, Text DONATE to 5055 to give $3 or visit www.worldvision.org.nz to donate more.
Right now, every $1 you donate will provide $6 of urgent support for children living in danger, thanks to World Vision's partnerships with organisations such as the World Food Programme and Unicef.
