While it is not in our hands to overcome the humanitarian crisis the war has caused, we have decided that the best thing would be to just start helping.
Countries in Europe and across the world have seen a tremendous inflow of refugees. Besides financial and psychological aid people need strong language skills to survive.
Countries in Europe and across the world have seen a tremendous inflow of refugees. Besides financial and psychological aid people need strong language skills to survive.
That’s how Samantha’s Group started in March 2022 — with just two teachers and a few Ukrainian students who fled their country to Ireland.
How did Samantha’s Group grow in the last six months?
✦ Hundreds of people from all over the world have responded to our call for help. Samantha’s Group has grown from 2 volunteers to over 500
✦ We have launched over 300 English study groups and several groups with other European languages. We hold speaking clubs and CV and job interview workshops
✦ We are building a cozy and welcoming volunteer community and a structured learning environment. So far, we have hosted more than 10 webinars for our volunteers and are planning to do more of them!
✦ Samantha’s Group is not the only one helping displaced Ukrainians to learn foreign languages and we are happy to collaborate with fellow volunteer organizations! We are so grateful to everyone who spreads the word about our community.
Our group was named after Samantha Smith who was a school student in the U.S. in the 1980s. At the age of 8 she wrote to Yuri Andropov (the Head of the Communist Party in USSR at that time) with a question, whether USSR really wants to conquer her country and destroy the whole world.
This naïve faith that war should not exist became very close to all of us in current circumstances.
In response to this letter Yuri Andropov invited Samantha Smith to visit USSR. In the summer of 1983, she arrived in USSR and became a symbol of establishing connection between the two countries.
You can read the story of Samantha Smith in more detail on Wikipedia.
This naïve faith that war should not exist became very close to all of us in current circumstances.
In response to this letter Yuri Andropov invited Samantha Smith to visit USSR. In the summer of 1983, she arrived in USSR and became a symbol of establishing connection between the two countries.
You can read the story of Samantha Smith in more detail on Wikipedia.
Why the “Samantha Smith’s Group”?
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