On her 16th birthday, Anhelina waited in vain for the promised calls from her friends in Kyiv. There has been a power outage in large parts of the Ukrainian capital for several days. Many phones don’t work. But today her class has already formed a heart with her name for her, made of gummy bears, says the student and shows a photo as proof on her cell phone.
Even if the war in the Ukraine takes place far away from the Munich Schlau School in Sendling, the dimensions and the after-effects are clearly noticeable in the stories of the young people here.
Today Anhelina, who fled the city of Lutsk in north-western Ukraine with her mother and sister immediately after the start of the war, is sitting in an empty classroom and thanking her for the opportunity to complete her Ukrainian school-leaving certificate here.
German lessons are also on the curriculum
This is made possible by the SchlaUA program, developed by the social educational institution Schlau-Schule. In addition to her, about 75 other young people are attending a Ukrainian graduation class. Michael Stenger, founder and board member of the school, also sees the program as an opportunity for young people to exchange ideas with one another. “When there’s war at home, conversations in the mother tongue are extremely important.”
Classes follow a special curriculum developed with partner schools in Ukraine and meet the requirements of the Ukrainian Ministry of Education. In addition to the Ukrainian timetable, German lessons are also on the curriculum. Project motto: “The best of both”.
The future of the project is uncertain
The school also offers help with integration into German society and psychosocial and trauma-pedagogical support. The school is supported, among others, by the Ministry of Education of the Ukraine, two partner schools in the Ukrainian city of Ternopil and the Ukrainian consulate in Munich.
So far, however, the project has only been financed by donations. Funding from the city is pending. Stenger: “The city hasn’t shown any commitment yet.” The future of the project is therefore as uncertain as the fate of the young people.
The Ukrainian Consul General Yuriy Yarmilko will speak at the school on Thursday evening. He thanks the project staff and is slightly optimistic about the imminent end of the war in Ukraine. “I hope that soon we can meet under different circumstances and then talk about how we have overcome the past together.” The applause is loud and echoes for a long time.