Help Ukrainian refugees in Latvia learn English!

Please donate with this link here!



In May 2022, Otto and Joe from the Latvia Weekly Podcast came up with the idea of starting free English courses for the many Ukrainian refugees who have sought shelter in Latvia from the Russian war of aggression. English is important as the most spoken language in Europe, helpful to the employability of the refugees during their stay in Latvia, and is also needed in the future as Ukrainians have chosen the path of Euroatlantic integration for their country. At the same time, opportunities to study English for free had been lacking for refugees.
In August, Otto and Joe launched the ENGtegration for Ukraine project at the Baltic Security Foundation. This has been made possible with the help of a generous grant from the US Embassy in Rīga. So far it has enabled more than 140 students to receive English language instruction from internationally experienced instructors both in person and via video calls. With the current resources, the project will continue until the end of December.
Unfortunately, the situation in Ukraine is still not stable enough for most to return home, and a number of students have asked whether lessons will still be able to continue after the current courses finish at the end of the year. This is why we are turning to you for help — aside from just providing English skills, these classes have helped participants regain a sense of normalcy and give them something positive to do while here in Latvia that could have a huge impact on their futures. We would like to continue offering a new round of courses in January 2023 that would allow our current students to continue their studies and for new signups to access this opportunity as well.
One eight-week course (three hours per week) costs €1,600 to run, including the teacher's salary, the rental of premises (including heating), all required study materials and basic accounting. We are setting a goal of €8,000 which would allow the project to continue with another full set of five parallel courses. We hope to raise the full amount; however, we will be glad to organize as many courses and lessons that the raised funds permit even if it is below the stated goal so we can reach as many refugees as possible. We would be very much grateful for the opportunity to keep this project going. Thank you for your generosity!

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