SC teacher heads to Poland to help refugee children

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Charleston reading teacher is headed to Poland to help educate Ukrainian children who have fled the war-torn country.

Brittany Farrior will head to the continent as a courier for CHS4Ukraine – a local group that has been collecting supplies from people in the Lowcountry since the war began in February.

“It’s in my heart. I’m a mom. I have a 5-year-old and a 7-year-old. I see these families hurting and in need. I see the children in need and it just breaks my heart,” Farrior said. “War aside, these are children, and they need love. They need care. They need learning. Honestly, if we want to stop wars like this in the future, education is the key.”

Farrior, who is also the outreach/social media director for CHS4Ukraine, will connect with the Nidaros Foundation in Krakow to help educate about 30 Ukrainian refugee children. Along with helping them learn English, she’ll help the foundation develop a curriculum tailored to the circumstances.

“They don’t have iPads. They don’t have their laptops or educational devices. They have no books with them. A lot of them are so far behind that they don’t even know how to write their names.” Farrior said. “There’s an educational crisis in Poland because of all the refugees that have come to the country.”

A report from Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science states 1,888 schools have been damaged or destroyed since the Russian invasion began on Feb. 24, impacting all 7.5 million children living in Ukraine.

“I’m taking over eight iPads and, through the generous donation of lots of people here in Charleston and around our area, several hundred dollars’ worth of learning games and things like that that I am going to be working with,” Farrior said.

She will also be taking over a number of non-miliary supplies to support the Ukrainian cause. Those supplies include trauma kits and tactical helmets for civilians.

She will be CHS4Ukraine’s 20th courier. In all, they’ve donated about 10,000 pounds of supplies so far.

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