Siena, at the primary Saffi teachers and companions welcome a Ukrainian girl – Corriere di Siena
A Ukrainian girl was welcomed in a Sienese school and since yesterday she is enrolled in the institute and has her own desk in a class that has embraced her. The emotion felt in the middle of the morning inside the primary Saffiat the time of the arrival of the little girl who, fleeing the nightmare of war, has joined a fifth. Visibly moved the little girl, who was accompanied by her mother and who, after a period that was very difficult, returns to a school context, together with young people of her age. He looked around, observed the yellow and blue balloons that were inflated by his new classmates and smiled. Then she looked up and observed the sign with the words Welcome, also colored yellow and blue in accordance with the colors of the flag of Ukraine. At that age, one becomes friends in five minutes. And here it is his new classmates were immediately kind to him. She looked at everyone, smiled and made it clear that she appreciated all that kindness. Between these children there is still a wall made up of the different language. Because the 10-year-old Ukrainian girl speaks Russian and obviously Ukrainian, but she doesn’t know Italian and English. But at that age, she learns quickly and the goal that even the educators have set themselves is to quickly insert her to all intents and purposes in the school and student context.
Next to the blackboard, inside the classroom, there is one next to it that is attached to a projector and a computer: on it is linked to the Google translation page, a useful method to help the child understand what is happening around. she. The school also has a tablet available which will be provided for translations. One can imagine the sadness and fear that the young woman will have in the face of the conflict and also in having to leave what was her city, her school, her friendships. The child has experienced shocking moments, therethe goal must be to get them back to living an existence that is now as peaceful as possible. She will live in Siena in a family context: her grandmother had lived here for some time and now she too has been brought to Italy by her mother. Moments like the one experienced yesterday at Saffi are from the Cuore book. The other pupils, along with the teachers, began to sing the song We are the world by Usa for Africa. The little Ukrainian, who was immediately assigned a seat and a desk, watched them visibly excited. A new life has begun for her since yesterday.
“The welcome went very well, the children prepared welcome cards – explains Lucia Rinaldi, vice-principal of the Saffi institute. – Was a touching moment because the little girl got excited. She did not go to school for quite some time, now she has found herself with other classmates. The way the children welcomed her was beautiful. Together with the presidency we have prepared a literacy project based on images and on the possibility of arriving at a first basic knowledge of the Italian language. Activities to be carried out and also educational outings to be carried out in the territory are already being planned ”. The statements of the statement presiding over the comprehensive San Bernardino institute, Simona Ugolini, go in the same direction when she explains: “We met her mother, who asked to give her daughter the opportunity to live in peace. The little girl was delighted to see the yellow and blue balloons, the colored butterflies, the flag of Ukraine. Her family saw that Siena is a very welcoming city, we have all had yet another demonstration of this in this international emergency“. It is not the first time that children who come from war zones have come to the Saffi school. In fact, a Syrian girl arrived three years ago, who was placed in the second grade and is now in the same class as the new Ukrainian companion. “A literacy process was also carried out with her when she arrived in Italy and in our community,” says Rinaldi. Ugolini chairs it adds: “A few months ago we also welcomed some children from Afghanistanwe are not new to these experiences ”.