The war in Ukraine brought many refugee kids to Charlotte, North Carolina. There is no government support, and all efforts to help families fleeing war are private initiatives. Our important goal for the summer is to send the refugee kids to summer camps so they can continue to integrate into American society and heal from the traumatic events they experienced at home in Ukraine.
Ukrainian Children Development Center in Charlotte has been an amazing help and support. It has daycare, summer camp, and English language courses for adults. The Ukrainian center is located in Good News Church in Mathews and was founded by a professional teacher Liliya Lastovetska, an immigrant from Odesa, Ukraine who has a degree in childhood education.
Refugee kids are still learning English, adjusting to the new life away from home, and learning American culture.
During the school year, the refugee kids were among teachers and students. They were distracted from the traumatic events they have experienced, the horrible war and losses back home. They made amazing progress in terms of their psychological state and learning English.
But now there is no school, the kids are with refugee mothers who might not be always capable of supporting the children the way they deserve. The mums are still figuring things out in the US, learning English, getting papers, etc. We are afraid that the children are in danger of regressing.
We want to send them to summer camps ASAP to socialize with other children and continue their integration into American society. Liliya’s Ukrainian education center is the best place for them, with attentive teachers who speak their language, familiar food, therapeutic activities, and peers who are like them. Please help us cover the costs.
Lilya has been accepting the refugee kids for free for months, feeding and educating them. Currently, there are eight preschool kids who are attending Lilya’s school for free. Their names are: Mishel (from Kremenchuk, 3 y.o.), Timur (from Kremenchuk, 4 y.o.), Katerina (from Mykolayiv, 2,5 y.o.), Radion (from Odesa, 4 y.o.), Nikol (from Kherson, 5 y.o.), Maria (from Kyiv, 2 y.o.), Lyuba (from Kyiv, 5 y.o.) All kids came to the US fleeing war in Ukraine.
We want to send more elementary school-aged kids from Ukraine to Lilya’s summer camp. The cost of the summer camp is $325 (9 to 5, breakfast, lunch, and snacks included). Having already eight preschoolers attending for free, Liliya needs to be paid to be able to accept the new kids.
Please help us cover 10 weeks of summer camp ($ 3,250) for refugee kids so that they can be kids and enjoy summer and their refugee moms can have an opportunity to establish an income in the States.
If you are willing to contact Liliya directly or send her money directly, you can do so using her phone number 704-246-9088 (Zelle).