Some of the children who have evacuated from Ukraine are starting to attend elementary schools in Japan, and at elementary schools in Tokyo, we support them by assigning one-on-one Japanese language teachers.
Olga Jurabel (43), who left her husband in Ukraine last month from Kieu, the capital of Ukraine, and relied on an acquaintance with her three children to evacuate, has begun living in Japan in Chiyoda Ward.
Olga told the ward that she didn't want to lose her chance to get an education, and her second daughter, Olivia, a sixth grader, and her eldest son, Yang, a third grader, started this month. I go to an elementary school in the house.
At elementary school, there is time to teach Japanese three times a week, and on the 20th, Olivia read aloud the word "animal" and wrote hiragana while being taught by the person in charge of teaching Japanese. ..
Then, during the break, my classmates gathered with Olivia to speak Japanese and English, and Olivia taught her Ukrainian words to her friends.
There was also a scene where a friend of the class handed over a class newspaper translated into Ukrainian so that Olivia could read it.
Olivia says, "I like school, especially physical education, school lunch, and drawing. I also want to make friends because if I can make friends, I can help them, and I can help them too." Was there.
At the elementary school, in addition to teaching Japanese, we provide support such as having an interpreter two days a week, and Principal Etsuko Murata says, "I want to create an environment where I can learn while providing support in terms of language barriers and mental aspects." I was talking.
Mother "I'm worried that I don't understand Japanese"
Olga Jurabel, 43, evacuated to Japan with a suitcase full of textbooks that children used at Ukrainian schools, thinking that they should not stop their education.
Mr. Olga commented on the children's appearance, "I think it is less mentally burdensome than the other children remaining in Ukraine. However, at the beginning of the invasion, I was very scared of the explosion sounds and the sounds of airplanes, so I was very scared. I was nervous. "
And about life in elementary school, "Children love Japanese schools very much. The teachers are also very kind and take good care of me. I am happy that the children can study. But I am happy that Japanese is spoken. I'm most worried about what I don't understand, especially since 6th grade Olivia is in the last grade of elementary school, so I'm very concerned. She may not understand much, so she may be in trouble in junior high school. " I was particularly worried about my second daughter, Olivia, who will be a junior high school student next year.
And she said about the future, she said, "I think I'll be going to school in Japan for the time being. Even after the war, I'm probably not going back because Ukraine isn't safe for two to three years." I was talking.