On Tuesday, the IDP children from the Donetsk People's Republic began their studies at the secondary school No. 3 in the capital of South Ossetia.
It should be reminded that a group of forced migrants from the DPR of 42 people arrived in the Republic, 24 of them are children.
As noted by the employee of the education department, in total, 19 children from Donbass from 2nd to 10th grade sat down at school desks.
“Ministry of Education and Science of South Ossetia provided the children with stationery and backpacks. The benefactors also brought clothes. Children will receive all the necessary textbooks in the school library,” Anzhela Zasseeva said.
While the children were having lessons, their parents enrolled the children in various circles and sections, after which the director of the school gave the guests a tour of the school. Parents examined the school infrastructure: cooking rooms, a computer class, a gym, a labor room, a dining room, an assembly hall, and, of course, school classes, at the desks of which their children were already sitting.
As one of the migrants, seventh-grader Milena Nuzhnaya, said, at first, she was afraid to go to the Republic.
“Different country, different school and I was worried that I would be treated differently. Now the opinion has changed, everyone treated me well, got acquainted with me. The teachers are very good, the school is beautiful. We were warmly welcomed and placed in a comfortable hotel. They are very attentive to us, they bring food every day,” said the sсhool girl.
She has reсalled the conditions under which she had to leave her hometown.
“We evacuated with my mother and older brother from Donetsk, Kirov district. When we were leaving, our windows were trembling from shelling, it was very scary. We gathered in basements with friends, shooting was very hard. In 2014, the shock wave knocked out the windows of our house and the shards fell on my brother," is recalling Milena.
The parents of the children shared their first impressions of the Republic.
“We were met very warmly, settled in a hotel with all the conditions. Today our children went to school for the first time, it was very touching, because of the excitement we did not sleep almost all night. Today I brought two children - they went to the 3rd and 6th grades. When the shelling became too massive and intense, we decided to evacuate and left together with the Ministry of Emergency Situations,” said Elena Lazareva.
According to another parent, Svetlana Lagacheva, they did not expect such a warm welcome.
“We were received very hospitably, many thanks to everyone for this. I have two children; they went to the sixth and ninth grade. I think it will be an unforgettable experience for them to get acquainted with the local teaching methods. There are very benevolent teachers here, a bright school, everything is new and beautiful, so we liked everything very much, and especially your school uniform. All children in white shirts, dark trousers, skirts, get up when the elders enter, i.e., there is an organization. So far, we have managed to get acquainted with the school only externally, but let's see how different our school curriculum is, but I think that the knowledge that our children will receive here will be useful to them in the future,” Lagacheva believes.
She noted the amazing cleanliness of the city and the goodwill of the people.
“Everyone is ready to show the way, to help in any matter, even though we have been to the city once, but we already like it here," the parent said.
Another guest of the Republic expressed her gratitude.
“I want to say a huge thank you to the teachers for being so responsive to our children, even agreeing to work with them individually, a big thank you to them for this,” said Elena Getsevich.
In the second grade, three children from Donbass were brought to the teacher Natalia Kulukhova.
“Our children received them very cordially, our class is multinational and friendly, most of the schoolchildren are children of military personnel. We were really looking forward to the children from the DPR, each child wanted to help them, offered them pens and notebooks. At first in the class, they were a little confused, which is natural, because they saw strangers. By the second lesson, the children became more relaxed and began to communicate with other children, now everything is fine and the most important thing is that, despite the war, where the children came from, there is still a smile on their faces and it pleases.
After the lessons, the children will stay for additional classes, because due to the situation in their homeland, the children have not yet completed even the first part of the school curriculum. All teachers gladly volunteered to conduct additional lessons for the children. We help in any way we can, because we have gone through the same trials and understand our guests perfectly. We will do everything possible so that they do not feel like strangers,” Kulukhova said.
As noted by the director of the 3rd school Madina Bestayeva , the school staff prepared carefully for the arrival of the guests.
“We held a meeting, discussed all the details. In the morning the teachers were already at school and waiting for the children. We pre-assigned children to classes, and each teacher knew his child. They met the, took them to classes and introduced them to other children. We also provided children with textbooks. At the meeting, we specifically agreed that if the children have any gaps in the school curriculum, then we stay and do additional work with them. Even if these were not children from Donbass, it is the duty of any teacher to stay and take extra care of the child, and all the teachers agreed with this,” Bestayeva said.
The oldest student among the displaced children, sixteen-year-old Maria Shchegrinskaya, is currently the only student in the 10th grade, since there are no her peers at this school, but a schedule has been drawn up specifically for her and full-fledged lessons will be held.
“Everywhere is very beautiful and unusual. I saw the mountains for the first time when we were driving here. We settled in a very beautiful hotel; the food is incredibly tasty. Now I'm getting used to it, but everyone is very friendly. Being alone in the classroom directly with the teacher is still a little scary and unusual, but I'm trying to get used to it,” Maria noted, being next to the eleventh-graders with whom she has already made friends.
