Over the last few months the number of pupils at the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School, which celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, has increased by almost 200 children of different ages. The vast majority are children of Ukrainian refugees who already live in our country and continue to arrive in Riga.
In order to cope with such an increase and to ensure a high-quality, modern teaching process, the Riga Ukrainian School has agreed with the University of Latvia to use some space of the Faculty of Humanities to conduct classes for schoolchildren. In addition, several new teachers, who are refugees from Kiev, were invited to work at the school.
After consultation with the school administration, “Nākotnes Atbalsta fonds” (Future Support Fund) decided to donate ten new notebooks, a laser printer and multifunctional high-performance copying equipment worth around €10,000 to the Ukrainian school as a support for the organisation of a high-quality and effective learning process. The new equipment has already been handed over to the school and has begun to be used.
In this regard, the permanent principal of the Riga Ukrainian Secondary School, Lidija Kravchenko, notes: “Right now we are facing a situation where our school has become one of the first places where refugees turn to, often without even fully resolving the issues of residence in Latvia. In my opinion, this happens because it is important for people that the children continue their studies so that the current situation does not affect their education. Although the Ukrainian school is considered to be one of the best in Riga, it is a rather small educational institution. And the number of pupils, which has increased by one and a half times since the beginning of the military conflict, requires new human, organisational and financial resources. We are very grateful to “Nākotnes Atbalsta fonds” for taking the initiative to provide the school with new computer equipment.”
Inga Shina, Chairperson of the Board of “Nākotnes Atbalsta fonds”, admits: “This is yet another our project to support Ukrainian people. Since the early days of military conflict, we started to look for options to help those who were forced to leave their homes. At some point, we approached the Riga Ukrainian School, as we think it is very important both to provide a normal educational process for children and to help their parents to start a new life in our country and settle down in a new environment. We hope that this partnership will also continue in the new school year.”
“Nākotnes Atbalsta fonds” (Future Support Fund) has been founded by Rietumu Bank.
In June, with the support of Rietumu Bank and “Nākotnes Atbalsta fonds” (Future Support Fund), the charity fund founded by the bank, concerts to commemorate the outstanding Latvian poet and writer Imants Ziedonis will take place in Riga.