Local high schoolers are using the power of language to help ease Ukrainian refugees into life outside their war-torn homeland.
Tutors For Ukraine, an organization founded by three high school students last August, provides Ukrainian refugees with free, virtual one-hour English tutoring sessions to improve their speaking, writing and reading skills. While they hope to expand their reach, they currently are a team of nine high school- and college-aged tutors working with 12 Ukrainian refugees across the globe on a weekly basis.
“Our goal is to make sure that language isn’t the barrier that’s stopping (Ukrainian refugees) from learning and forming relationships,” said Adam Faradjev, a junior at Mountain View High and program director for Tutors for Ukraine.
The inspiration for a virtual tutoring program for Ukrainian refugees began with Bella Boshernitsan, a senior at the Urban School of San Francisco and daughter of immigrants from the former Soviet Union.
“When the war in Ukraine first started, my family felt the impact of it a lot,” Boshernitsan said. “It was difficult trying to figure out what I can do as a teenager halfway across the country. I knew that there were a lot of Ukrainian refugees who were relocating to English-speaking countries, so I had the idea that I could offer free tutoring.”
She pitched her plan to her friend Faradjev, who is also fluent in Russian. Faradjev loved the idea and asked his friend Adit Chintamaneni, a junior at Los Altos High, if he wanted to help out as well.
“I was at Adam’s house, and we were playing pingpong when he pitched it to me,” Chintamaneni said. “I thought Tutors For Ukraine could really benefit people because we’d be able to help children stay caught up in school.”
Despite not speaking Russian, Chintamaneni became the group’s director of outreach, using Facebook and local shelters to find students.
Forging connections
Anton Duahovskyi, a Ukrainian refugee who’s been living in Los Gatos since November, heard about the program through Facebook. He’s had his 7-year-old daughter enrolled in weekly tutoring sessions for nearly three months. He said the transition from Ukraine to California has been “not easy” but that Tutors For Ukraine is “very helpful.”
Tutoring is open to Ukrainian refugees across the globe, with current students living in places such as Australia and the Netherlands. While the majority of students are in grade school, all ages are welcome.
“Just getting to talk to people, hearing their experiences, and even just feeling like I can do something that can help has been amazing,” Boshernitsan said. “It’s really nice to be able to connect with people who I never would have met without this organization.”
Despite graduating this year, Boshernitsan plans to continue with the program throughout college. Tutors For Ukraine intends to expand to help underserved communities as well as create a video pal program that would allow children of Ukrainian refugees and American children to interact virtually to build intercultural relationships and foster community.
Tutors For Ukraine is looking for more tutors and students. To apply to be a tutor or to sign up for a free tutoring session, email [email protected] or visit tutorsforukraine.org.
