But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto
me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:14
More than 500 children have been killed or injured since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine six weeks ago, Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office said on Tuesday, while the United Nations’ children’s agency Unicef said more than 5 million have been displaced amid an escalating humanitarian crisis and reports of alleged war.
In the midst of the shift in this war we are realizing that there is a priority in feeding and rescuing people. At the same time Ukrainians are faced with a number of other challenges. Farmers need to plant there spring plantings. People need to go back to work in order to get the country back on an economy that will sustain them. And children need an education.
So many schools have been destroyed and so many teachers have been displaced. Many of these children and teachers are now in the border countries surrounding Ukraine. Presently we are in talks regarding partnering with a group that has a wonderful vision and has embarked on taking on this challenge
The Education with Values Foundation, which has created over 30 educational institutions in Poland in recent years, is opening free kindergartens for children from Ukraine. We have currently 6 preschools operating in Warsaw (240 kids) with another yet to open. The goal is to create several dozen kindergartens in Poland. This will make it possible to create places for hundreds of children and guarantee many workplaces for many Ukrainian teachers. What is more, children will be able to learn in their native language. In two institutions we have also first primary school classes. We have created two groups in each kindergarten, to take care of 40-50 children in each place. We will provide them with care from 8 am to 5 pm on working days. Thanks to that their parents will be able to find a job. Some of the children have dysfunctions like dyslexia, dysgraphia or various types of social disabilities. They are also severely traumatized by the war. In each institution, we will create jobs for at least 4 Ukrainian teachers and 2 Polish who teach Polish and English language. Moreover, we would like to involve volunteers to help them. This will give many people the opportunity to take on specific tasks and can help them regain mental balance. We are looking for the possibility of financing food for these children
Will you pray for this wonderful project and the multiplication of it and many more like it? Will you partner with us to see this happen?
Al Akimoff and the Slavic Ministries Team