Estonian Friends launch Ukrainian school
'The Tallinn Ukrainian School for Children of War Refugees has received over 2,000 applications for school places from Ukrainian war refugees.'
A school set up with the help of Estonian Quakers for war refugees has offered places to nearly 1,600 students.
A school set up with the help of Estonian Quakers for war refugees has offered places to nearly 1,600 students.
The Tallinn Ukrainian School for Children of War Refugees has received over 2,000 applications for school places from Ukrainian war refugees. The school opened at the beginning of April, in a vacant Tallinn university premises.
Roland Rand, from The Tallinn Friends Group in Estonia, told the Friend: ‘Apart from professional teachers, our volunteers teach Estonian language and help to organise freetime activities outside of school, [as well as] book-reading workshops and raising money to buy books. Since I work in Tallinn Tondiraba Ice Arena as a marketing manager, we reached an agreement with the city that the families of the refugees can skate free of charge. We are currently fundraising money to buy books. No donations for books have been received yet.’
According to Roland, ‘the situation with the influx of refugees in Estonia at the moment is stable. The newcomers are mainly women with children. Some refugees have found accommodation, many still live on the ships (docked ferry-boats in the harbour). If the government cannot find the money, they will have to move out’.
The Tallinn Friends Group has also launched a new Alternatives to Violence Project aimed at ‘preventing violence between two groups’ [Ukrainian and Russian people in the city].
The Funding for Ukraine Group (FUG), made up of several Central European Gathering (CEG) Friends from Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovenia, have been meeting regularly since early April to look at refugee-linked projects to support. Friends World Committee for Consultation has a webpage giving more funding updates.
To donate to the Tallinn Friends Group, email roland.rand@mail.ee.
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