When war broke out in Ukraine last year, 780 of Ukraine’s displaced children were welcomed to St Mary’s Ukrainian School in Greater London. Many Ukrainian teachers were also displaced and both staff and pupils were left without the vital technology they need to teach, plan lessons and continue to learn.
The Digital Poverty Alliance (DPA) were able to support the school by donating 100 laptops for the school to ensure that children could remain connected to their education and to their families. Children were able to learn most effectively by using interactive educational platforms such as Kahoot! which makes the classroom a fun and engaging place to be.
Without the DPA’s work, teachers fleeing the war would have been unable to continue to teach new skills and engage with their pupils effectively and children would have missed out on essential education whilst seeking refuge in the UK. As so many vital teaching resources are now online and children are required to develop their digital skills, devices such as the 100 laptops donated are essential and required by both teachers and students to allow them to thrive.
To ensure the Digital Poverty Alliance can continue to support teachers and pupils such as those at St Mary’s, we need your support. You can donate to the DPA, or contact us to learn about other ways to support us, from donating old tech to sponsoring our work.
Author: Adele Kersey, External Affairs Coordinator at the Digital Poverty Alliance