After Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, many Ukrainian families with children were forced to leave their homes. Many came to Poland, where they had to start a new life: find housing, start working, or start studying. Some children have gone through traumatic experiences escaping the war, and many are scared and uncertain in their new environment. Seeing this, Tzu Chi volunteers proposed Tzu Chi’s character education program -- originally developed in the United States -- to assist the children in their healing and adaptation to their new situation.

Helping Ukrainian Refugee Children Solve Life Issues

Seeing that many women could not go to work because their children needed someone to take care of them, the Camillian Mission for Social Assistance started a preschool and kindergarten in their shelter in Lomianki, together with the Polish Spynka Kindergarten Animation Group. As a part of their collaboration with the Camillians, Tzu Chi volunteers often visited the shelter; they noticed that many of the children were scared and withdrawn. Among Tzu Chi’s Ukrainian volunteers in Poland, some had worked in the field of education before escaping the war. After discussion, they decided to start providing Tzu Chi’s character education to the children at the preschool.

The curriculum, developed in English for preschool children in the United States, was translated into Ukrainian and adapted for differences in culture and educational styles between the countries. Sara, Tzu Chi’s lead for the mission in Poland, explained: “It was a perfect match.” Superior Father Roman Zajac, Director of the Camillian monastery in Lomianki, was very happy with Tzu Chi’s initiative to conduct these classes. He expressed his enthusiastic support for the program.

The character education curriculum is developed for 3-6-year-old children, and aims to connect teaching themes such as Respect, Compassion, Courage and Thankfulness to everyday life. It teaches the children to cultivate positive qualities and virtues that will help them solve life issues in various areas of their life, whether at home with their family, in kindergarten with other students, in the store, or at the playground.

At the beginning of the project, the children were still closed in, stressed and attached to their mothers. Sometimes they cried and did not want to stay at the kindergarten. But, in the course of the program, they slowly began to open up, like flowers opening their petals.

Helping Ukrainian Refugee Children Solve Life Issues

Kindergarten teacher Oksana Horlenko, who came from Ukraine to Poland 11 years ago, said: “We are very grateful to the Tzu Chi Foundation and Tzu Chi volunteers for implementing the program and helping children learn what kindness is, and for developing a sense of gratitude in children. It is very important. We see the results of the work, we see how children begin to change and behave differently.

“For example, we have a girl, Ksyusha, from Kharkiv studying with us. At first, she was constantly afraid, was very withdrawn, even sat under the table and was afraid to go out to people. When the volunteers from Tzu Chi started coming, together we were able to show the child with our adult behavior that she is safe and that she can trust us. As we can see, Ksyusha is completely different now; she has changed a lot, she communicates with the other children, and she can talk to adults too. I can give many such examples. Therefore, such activities are necessary, so that these children are enveloped in warmth and kindness.

“Not every family will return to Ukraine, because some have nowhere to return to. Many people’s houses are destroyed. That’s why this joint project was created, so that it would be easier for children to live here and it would be easy to adapt. We have one common goal, to show kindness to children and to show that we need them.”

Character Education Makes an Impact

Lesia Stepanenko is a refugee from the city of Netishyn in the Khmelnytskyi region in Ukraine, which is known for its electricity production. As the mother of a child studying in kindergarten and also a kindergarten teacher herself, she shared her impressions about the curriculum:

“The Tzu Chi organization came to our kindergarten and offered this character education training program, and we agreed. We met the teachers from Tzu Chi, Ukrainian-speaking girls, with extensive pedagogical education and extensive experience. They teach the children words of courtesy and to help each other. As a teacher, I see positive results. Now, when there is a conflict, the children try to come to an agreement among themselves.

“As a mother, I can also see the results. My youngest son Zakhar has begun to negotiate with his elder brother, 10-year-old Makar. He also helps at home, joins in the cleaning, and we prepare salads together. Zakhar has started to thank me, he hugs me. I can feel that the child has a warmth that he wants to share. It is very important for me.”

Now she feels reassured. “My children have found a common language. I think it is thanks to the fact that we transferred all the positive experiences we received in kindergarten to the family. Makar has noticed changes in his younger brother too. He said that Zakhar has started helping him more, listening to him, sharing and playing with him. And he mentioned that the relations between them have become warmer.”

Another mother and a kindergarten teacher, Alyona Chaikovska, from the city of Dnipro in Ukraine, learned about the kindergarten from a Facebook group and started taking her youngest 4-year-old son there.

“He really likes the kindergarten, where he meets friends from Ukraine who speak the same language as him. For him, this place is like a part of home. And we learned that character education is taught in the kindergarten. The children are taught to be kind, compassionate, grateful and polite. My son now often says ‘thank you,’ asks permission when he wants to take something, doesn’t scatter things around, and cleans up after himself.”

“For him, all this is interesting as an element of play, and he transfers these concepts to his own life. As a mother, I am pleased that my child is polite. And he has learned to negotiate with his peers. I am very grateful to Tzu Chi for these activities, they are very interesting and useful for the children, and the children like them.”

Character Education Makes an Impact

Dina Brazhnyk, Tzu Chi volunteer and the program teacher, spoke about her acquaintance with Tzu Chi. At first, she came to work for the organization as a temporary volunteer. After learning about the character education program for children, she started working as a permanent volunteer. She said that she also worked as a teacher in Ukraine, that is why she joined this program.

She said: “The program is about respect, good actions, and humanity. We teach children how to behave in society, how to behave in the family and how to love each member of the family.

“I really like working on this program. It helps children who came from Ukraine a lot. The children arrived very tired, withdrawn and aggressive. Every child has his own story. At first they didn’t want to communicate with us, but gradually they opened up.

“We still have a lot to learn from Tzu Chi philosophy and teach it to our children. These concepts have very positive impact on the future of the children, and of the adults as well. I have learned a lot from Tzu Chi and now I can pass it on to the students.

“If you plant a seed in the ground and take good care of it, a beautiful flower will grow. It's the same with children. If you show kindness from a very young age, then a small child will grow up to be a good person.”

*Article: Marika Gvagvaliia, an Ukrainian volunteer in Poland