“ They were determined to make a great life for themselves in this foreign situation , and to see all of them succeed supported by our great efforts inspires me to continue helping more people in need in the future .”
TEACHING A RANGE OF SKILLS
Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine I felt that suddenly a lot more people around me were in need of someone to help them settle into their new country and their new lifestyle . Most people desperately needed to find jobs so that they could continue living their lives , despite how hard it must have been for them to leave their country and sometimes their families as well . This service was an amazing opportunity to help them , for example by teaching them English . Over the course of the year many people managed to get new jobs thanks to the lessons our service provided , and some continue to come and study with us . It is incredible to see the effect of what we ’ ve been doing , and I hope we can do even more in the future .
George Karpenko , Lower Sixth
For the past six years we have been helping refugees from different countries such as Syria , Afghanistan and Ukraine by teaching them various subjects needed for settling into the UK such as English and Computer Science . Although I only joined this year , I have already managed to help people improve their English and adapt to their new lives . While the role reversal of younger people teaching older people may intimidate at first , during the process of teaching you learn a very valuable skill : politely responding when someone gives you the wrong answer , and encouraging them to find the right one .
Ilya Reshetnik , Lower Sixth
I have been teaching and interacting with many refugees over the past year . From teaching adults basic grammar skills to preparing a teen for an entrance test to their new British school , I feel like I have seen these people start a new life . Just like them , I miss my home and would do anything to undo these wars and crises , but what I gathered was that these people who I originally needed to help , helped me . Every Thursday afternoon I would see refugees of all ages coming determinedly to our lessons with clear goals of getting jobs , integrating better into British society or just to make conversation to improve their speaking skills and have a laugh . They were determined to make a great life for themselves in this foreign situation , and to see all of them succeed supported by our great efforts inspires me to continue helping more people in need in the future .
FUNDRAISING
Nastya Surzhyk , Lower Sixth
In December we invited 60 local refugees ( 40 children and 20 adults ) to a party in the Dining Hall . We used the decorations from the Sixth Form ball to create a Christmas atmosphere . Our activities varied from creative ones , such as gingerbread painting , to the more active musical chairs , which was the group favourite . While the children engaged with students from Sevenoaks School , including many from the refugee partnership group , parents got to know each other and enjoyed tea and cake . Our older students also had a chance to speak to some parents whom they were teaching in service sessions , and were blown away by their progress since the start of the year . The kids were overjoyed to have received gifts from a student dressed as Santa and enjoyed the festivities . Georgia Shawver from Sevenoaks Welcomes Refugees said to us afterwards : ‘ I cannot thank you all enough … [ you ] gave me hope for the future . Things have been so hard for the families we look after , seeing them all there yesterday , happy , safe , chatting and in a warm , caring environment meant so much to us all .’
Oleg Mikulich , Lower Sixth
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