Education Resilience Fund
Time is running out on our children
War is stealing the future of entire generations.
STOP! Get involved and let’s give children their future back!
Ukraine / Romania / Republic of Moldova
Şcoala la Cutie
Context
In times of wars or crises, children are the most vulnerable. Due to the disturbances they become exposed to, the consequences on their lives are long-term.
But this crisis, not only does it affect the children, but also the schools as educational systems. And the educational system, school by school, teacher by teacher, must integrate children from Ukraine, and in order to do that it must not collapse.
Learn more about the need, as explained by Tatiana in Ukraine.
“Education receives the lowest budget in 30 years: 2.5% of the GDP”
In a country that is already facing problems, we need to act immediately, because this new crisis caused by the war will only make them worse.
The power of "together" is the solution!
Through projects such as School of Trust, HartaEdu.ro, Naradix.ro and School in a Box, Wellbeing Institute and Narada come together with solutions that provide results, in Romania.
During the COVID health crisis, we have already proved that we can come together as individuals or companies, no matter what other causes we support.
We invite you to keep up the same pace and work together to solve a huge problem: the new crisis that is affecting education.
TOGETHER we are building the RESILIENCE FUND FOR EDUCATION.
The purpose of the fund is to support the educational system to accommodate and integrate the large numbers of refugee children from Ukraine.
We aim to support:
- Teachers – to teach various lessons, adapted to the current context and the needs of each child; to meet the academic, emotional and social needs of children.
- Managers – to manage the crisis and to build teams that react immediately and to any situation, to coagulate communities.
- International specialists – to deliver webinars that help teachers and parents understand the effects of trauma, post-traumatic recovery and personal growth, resilience, how compassion works on a human level and the needs of people coming from the war-torn area.
- Schools – through the improvement of the infrastructure, including equipment and materials. We also aim to respond to any needs identified directly by the head of schools, as well as the community to facilitate the integration of refugee children.
- Hybrid education – by equipping children with tablets, textbooks and materials needed for distance learning where school attendance is not possible.
The risks for all of us – children, adults, employers – are BIG. The biggest risk is the collapse of the education system, which was facing major challenges anyway. Thus, each of us will face the direct consequences.
Implementation mechanisms of the Education Resilience Fund:
- Accommodating school needs through HartaEdu.ro. Teachers, school principals and even parents who have contact with educational institutions that offer support to Ukrainian students can warn of the needs on HartaEdu.ro (eg school furniture, classroom arrangements / rehabilitation, electronic devices, interactive whiteboards, video projectors, support materials for everyday needs, such as blankets, clothes, hygiene products, etc.)
- Supporting state schools through the School of Trust, a new model of state school that transforms schools into 4 pillars: personal responsibility, well-being, academic progress and active community.
- 104 state schools in Romania, from 24 counties, are enrolled in the program, and there are 264 schools from 39 counties on the waiting list.
- Teachers, principals and administrative staff, in the schools in which the Trust School operates, create a different kind of school for all children.
- Estimated impact: 204 principals, over 10,000 teachers and over 50,000 children (regardless of nationality).
- Access to technology, educational materials and supplies through “School in a Box”, a kit that includes a tablet, textbooks and an emotional development and post-trauma resilience guide in the Ukrainian language, supplies. All these are meant to support the Ukrainians children who cannot physically attend the schools made available by the Romanian state.
- Supporting refugees through the Naradix.ro platform, that will host:
- immersion classes in both Romanian and English.
- webinars held by professionals and addressed to adults, through which they are supported to understand their own emotions, thoughts and increase emotional agility, compassion, kindness, confidence and resilience.
- interactive lessons and activities for children that provide direct socio-emotional support.
Why Education?
According to the World Health Organization, schools are one of the most important environments that develop and contribute to the mental health of children through the time students spend in school.
We need to help address and reduce the psycho-emotional impact the war and violence had on Ukrainian minors. Given that they are far from home, in a country with an unknown language and nothing around them looks like what they left behind, the only familiar thing that can alleviate the emotional suffering of Ukrainian children is school. “Children have specific needs, which concern also the trauma caused by the separation of the families, the state of war and the interruption of school activities.From this point of view, organized social activities for refugee children in Greece, for example, are helpful, but they cannot replace the school, and host countries should make efforts to minimize disruption to the education of these children and to integrate them at a local level. We must remember that among the refugees will be Ukrainian teachers, who have the best training to help refugee children and to organize a transition from one system to another. The school also helps parents, because it gives them time to express their suffering without having their children around, and also to take care of their own needs. ” – Recommendations made by Brad Blitz, Professor of International Policy at the UCL Institute of Education – Faculty of Education and Society.
Why Resilience?
In troubled and difficult times, the greatest help comes from everyone’s strength to find solutions and move forward, to find the courage and resources to face challenges. We believe, now more than ever, in the power that schools have to make a huge difference in the lives of children (Romanians and refugees). This power will come with the help of every adult who will show resilience, emotional agility, empathy, kindness, compassion, tolerance and initiative.
Get involved! The war is not waiting. Why should children wait?
Donate and give them a chance to continue accessing education and emotional support in these times of crisis!
