Thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed since Ukraine was invaded in February last year, according to authorities – Copyright AFP OLIVIER DOULIERY
Children in Ukraine went back to school on Friday as a second academic year began during Russia’s all-out invasion of the pro-Western country.
Nearly four million students are returning to learning, both virtually and in the classroom, Ukraine’s education ministry said.
Big cities and towns across Ukraine are regularly subjected to artillery, drone and missile attacks and thousands of schools have been damaged or destroyed, according to authorities.
“The nation preserved the opportunity for children to go to Ukrainian school,” the head of Ukraine’s presidential office, Andriy Yermak, said on social media. “Ukrainian teachers are real heroes.”
More than 3.6 million children attend school in Ukraine, including nearly 900,000 who study remotely, said Yermak.
“The main thing is that our children will study,” said General Valery Zaluzhny, commander in chief of the Ukrainian armed forces.
“And our educators, teachers and lecturers will teach. Because knowledge and culture are what distinguish us from the enemy.”
Migrant women and children may have to sleep in tents as crisis continues: Mayor Adams
Mayor Adams says New York City’s migrant crisis has gotten so dire, women and children asylum seekers may eventually be moved to outside tents.
“We’re going to have to eventually move women and children into congregant settings. Some migrants might have to move into outside tents,” he said in an interview aired Sunday on PIX11.
His comments echoed warnings last month from Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol, who told Politico migrants with kids might soon have to sleep on the street.
To date, women and children have gotten priority for hotel stays paid for by the city as the shelter system is slammed. The city recently began kicking adult male migrants out of hotels to make room for families.
Luiz C. Ribeiro for New York Daily News
Mayor Adams defended his recent comments saying the migrant crisis could “destroy” New York City.
Progressive lawmakers and immigrant advocates have strongly criticized Adams since he predicted Wednesday night that the recent arrival of more than 110,000 migrants will “destroy” the city.
“This is not an academic exercise, this is not a utopia. New York City cannot manage 10,000 people a month with no end in sight. That can’t happen, and that is going to undermine this entire city,” the mayor said on PIX11.
Adams on Saturday said the migrant crisis has taken such a big financial toll that his administration is planning cuts of at least 5% for every city agency. He predicted a budget shortfall of $12 billion over three fiscal years.
Belle Cole, Obama-Chesky Voyager Scholarship recipient, is empowering migrant women and children
CHELMSFORD — When Belle Cole, Chelmsford High School Class of 2019, returns to Salve Regina University for her senior year, someone will inevitably ask what she did this summer.
A long conversation will likely follow about living in Rabat, Morocco and Athens, Greece. About the migrant women to whom she taught English and cared for and their stories of struggle. She might also delve into how deeply the experience has moved her, and how it is shaping her career plans.
The conversation could last hours.
Cole spent five weeks in Rabat teaching English to children, mostly migrants from war-torn countries. She then spent three weeks in Athens as a caretaker for eight refugee women aged 18 and under — three of whom are mothers — at a facility overseen by The Home Project.
“Not long enough,” Cole said of her stay in both Rabat and Athens. She noted her homecoming on July 30 was bittersweet.
Cole’s work in Rabat and Athens stems from her passion for mental health issues and social work (her major at SRU) as well as immigration and human rights. She spent the spring semester of her sophomore year studying migration in Rabat and learning Arabic.
When she returned, Erin Fitzgerald, Director of SRU’s Center for Global Education and Fellowships, suggested she apply for the Obama Chesky Voyager Scholarship for Public Service, founded by the former president and Brian Chesky, the CEO of Airbnb. Recipients of the Voyager Scholarship receive up to $50,000 in financial aid for their junior and senior years as well as a $10,000 stipend and free Airbnb lodging while pursuing a work-travel experience in the summer.
Cole was one of 100 students nationwide selected for the Scholarship. So moved by her semester in Rabat, she chose to return to teach English to children — ages 3-13 — at two migrant centers, both named Amal Chabab Takedoum and located in an impoverished area.