RTÉ’s Nationwide is broadcasting a series of special reports this week to mark two years of war in Ukraine.
The programme will look at how Ireland has responded to the conflict which brought thousands of Ukrainian citizens to this country.
Nationwide meets families who have had to up and leave their homeland and visits Irish homes where they have been accommodated.
There will also be a report this evening on how the Irish education system has coped with the influx of students attending Irish schools.
The Department of Education has confirmed that there are now around 18 thousand Ukrainian children enrolled in primary and secondary schools around the country. Teresa Mannion has been to a DEIS school in Galway City.
Scoil Bhríde is a School of Sanctuary in Galway City, one of hundreds around the country committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for people seeking international protection.
There are around 240 pupils attending the multi cultural school, 30 of them Ukrainian.
Olya Voziian is a qualified English teacher and taught the language back home in Kyiv.
She is registered here with the Teaching Council and provides invaluable support for Ukrainian children arriving with no English.
As she sits with Ukrainian junior infants teaching them to pronounce the letters of the alphabet, her eyes mist up as she describes how blessed she feels and expresses her deep sense of gratitude.
“There is no place like Scoil Bhríde. So I’m very happy. I’m very grateful to Irish people, to the Irish Government, to everyone, to my colleagues here and to the Department of Education. They allowed me to be a teacher here you know.”
Olya and her two sons were among the first Ukrainians to arrive in Galway two years ago and now they see it as home. They visited Ukraine in August to see close family but were anxious to return to what Olya says is a “welcoming, peaceful environment”.
However the underlying heartbreak and fear for the safety of loved ones shadows them daily. Olya wipes away tears as she continues
“It’s still very difficult because lots of people are dying. You know, lots of orphans. I’m from a small town. I was born in a small town. And like every month someone a soldier is brought back home dead, and the dad of my kids, he is on the frontline.”
Olya added how worried she is for Serhii’s safety “he’s servicing drones. And he doesn’t tell me what’s going on. But I see how nervous he is. How he is you know, desperate now”.
As Olya watches children play in the yard, laughing and squealing, she recalls running from missiles landing in the schoolyard in her hometown.
“So imagine we are sitting in class and then the alarm goes and you have to bring students to the shelter. And that is the responsibility for teachers there and you feel such pity for the kids. They have to stay in a bomb shelter and just wait till the alarm ends. I cannot forget these things.”
Scoil Bhríde is a DEIS Band 1 school, well used to dealing with ongoing challenges in an area of educational disadvantage.
There are a high number of Traveller children attending the school and many of their families are hugely supportive of the Ukrainian arrivals.
Grandmother Bridget Ward says she still helps out at Scoil Bhríde because of the level of care and attention her children received which kept them on the “straight and narrow”.
As Bridget Ward sits drinking tea with staff and other parents at Scoil Bhríde, she reflects on how people who struggle and are displaced often bond over lived experiences of hardship.
“Do you know something, the Ukrainians, the Travellers and all the other kids here from all over the place, they get on very, very well together, and there’s nobody treated any different. And the teachers in the school are very, very good. And do you know, like, there’s a lot of kids in the school and they have different issues and difficulties going on as well.
“All I can say is to be honest with you, there’s a lot of love in this school. And that’s very, very important too you know,” Ms Ward added.
Nadiia Leonova, mother of Anna, smiles shyly as she struggles to find the words to express her children’s happiness in the school.
“My children are very happy, they speak English and they teach me!” she giggles.
Frank Keane is Principal of Scoil Bhríde and said the ethos of this School of Sanctuary is about caring.
“We were watching the news two years ago and seeing the pictures unfolding and within weeks we were getting Ukrainian children coming in and enrolling in our school. And naturally I suppose there’s always apprehension, when something so big lands on your doorstep, but we’re a changemaker school.
“Our mindset would be, you know, to look at things differently, to affect change and adapt to changing circumstances. So when this crisis unfolded, originally, the overwhelming feeling from staff was, you know, you’re not going to refuse anyone”.
Frank Keane says there is enormous empathy within DEIS schools as a direct result of dealing with ongoing struggles and challenges above and beyond other mainstream schools.
“We have 14 families currently coming from homeless shelters, you know, and you’re talking about maybe 24/25 children coming from these shelters. So that’s happening as we speak. So I suppose it’s not that we’re any different, it’s just we have more experience in dealing with tough issues historically. And schools like ours are kind of safe havens for these children.
“They are often coming from unstructured, challenging situations and then they come to the sanctuary of our school. That’s why we can readily reach out to these children from Ukraine and understand their experience of trauma.”
Frank said there was initial fear of how the school would cope with the language barrier and have the proper resources to deal with the trauma of fleeing a war.
“You know, there’s a child in sixth class who brought in a picture of her brother who’s fighting on the front line, and then there was another parent who went back home to nothing. A bombed out ruin of their once home. These stories affect us all and drive us to look after their well being and their mental health. That’s the biggest challenge for us.”
“These Ukrainians are lovely people who are here through no fault of their own. Their accommodation is very, very basic. I’ve seen where they live and they have lost so much and many long to go home. But our experience has been nothing but positive.”
Frank also mentioned the passion the children have for their studies: “What I love about them is you know, they have an interest in education. So they bring the standard of education up in the school. Look at the older kids speaking English fluently after just two years”.
Arina Trofymova is nine years old and already conversing confidently in English.
“I’m so happy here. I’m in third class and learning to play the piano. I was never in a different country before and never spoke another language. But the teachers are so kind to me and I’m making lots of friends. I love this country. I want to stay here forever.”
Francie McDonagh is a 12-year-old settled Traveller and says he sometimes experienced discrimination going into shops as a child. But he says a lot has changed since then and it’s all about respect.
“I believe when you get an education you learn to accept and respect people. That’s why I’m getting on so well with the Ukrainians in my school. I try to imagine walking in their shoes and I think of what they’ve been through. We’re all human beings and it’s much better to look out for one another and treat people the same.”
Kesaria Peikrishvili is one of the 6th class students in Scoil Bhríde.
“My parents are from Georgia and I was born in Galway. I know a little of what it’s like to be an outsider so I reach out to new children arriving all the time.”
Kesaria has used her experience to guide the new students in the school and she is one of eight ambassadors for Scoil Bhride. A role she takes very seriously.
“We’re a sanctuary school and that’s what we do. We take the Ukrainian kids on a tour of the school and give them a buddy to help them settle in and not feel alone. We’re taking them on a trip to Dublin and we just want to make their lives better after all they’ve been through.”
Meanwhile rehearsals are under way at Scoil Bhríde for their forthcoming musical, Oliver. It’s an all singing, all dancing multicultural cast, performing together in harmony.
Principal Frank Keane says that from the moment a child comes through the door of Scoil Bhríde they are treated with dignity and respect, and given the support and care that a sanctuary school provides.
He looks on at rehearsals and a smile crosses his face. He says the results speak for themselves.
