AT ONE POINT OUR SCHOOL EVEN BECAME A HUB FOR AID
“Ukrainian pupils started to come to our school after just two weeks, in the first half of March 2022. This caused a great stir, people joined together from the bottom up and organised help,” says Agnieszka Moneta-Bazelak.
The young people from Ukraine were warmly welcomed at Primary School No. 5 in Wyszków, where they were able to continue their education. As part of the School Sports Club programme, additional groups were formed to integrate Polish and Ukrainian pupils.
“During P.E. lessons, the main language is movement, emotions, which does not need to be explained in any special way; we can say that this language knows no national barriers,” says Agnieszka Moneta-Bazelak. “Thanks to these activities, Ukrainian children simply flourish, gain self-confidence and develop their knowledge of the Polish language. This is of course thanks not only to the sports activities, but to all the lessons and the commitment of the teachers. At school sports club there was joy, laughter and fun, and when there are positive emotions, it is easier to overcome existing barriers, make friends and acquaintances. Institutions and organisations such as the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the Institute of Sport and the WHO help us, give us additional resources, and we at the local level are able to use them effectively so as to provide the best possible opportunities for our students to develop, train and play.”
The school community has been organising aid for the struggling Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion.
“There has been a clothing collection, a candle collection is still ongoing, and a fair was organised, the income from which went to help the fighting Ukraine. At a certain point, our school even became a hub for aid – we cooperate with German schools, conducting exchanges: our pupils go to Germany and the German ones come to us. These schools sent us very large amounts of dressing materials for Ukrainian soldiers, and they went directly to Ukraine.”
