Influx of Refugees From Ukraine at The Excellence Center: With the recent conflict in Ukraine, The Excellence Center has been helping Ukraine refugees with cultural integration into Halle, Germany. At the beginning of June 2022, Ukrainian refugees started to come to the center for language lessons and help with cultural integration in Halle. Now over 5,000 Ukrainian refugees have come to Halle since the conflict started. The Excellence Center hosted two days in which refugees could come to the center, learn more about the programs, and meet the volunteers and staff. From there, individuals could sign up for lessons and get started with classes at the center.
The Excellence Center now has more than a dozen Ukrainian refugees taking lessons and is expecting more in the coming months. The refugees are primarily seeking language lessons in German and also English, eager to learn and get settled into the city of Halle.
“Imagine you go to a new country, you need language support and emotional support. The refugees don’t miss any class. Why? Because they want to meet people and want to learn,” said Rafat, the founder of The Excellence Center in Halle.
Zak, a volunteer at the center, teaches two English classes to Ukrainian refugees. Zak does both a one-on-one class and a group class with six children. He often acts out certain vocabulary words to help teach and enjoys the light-heartedness of the lesson. “It’s a pretty goofy atmosphere. They are engaged. They are locked in for the whole lesson,” Zak said.
He explained the most rewarding aspect of teaching lessons was seeing the progress the kids made when speaking English. Zak explained he told stories about phone apps his friends use in the United States to help teach new vocabulary. “I used the same words and grammatical structures as my friends and they were able to understand it. They came in with no English. That was a pretty cool moment,” Zak added.
Jess, a volunteer from England, taught a group of Ukrainian children at the center in July 2022 as well. In her first lesson, Jess utilized different activities such as matching games, bingo, and vocab testing to teach the children English.
“It was uprooting proving to myself I could do it. I haven’t taught much before at all…I think it’s cool how the center is open to refugees from everywhere,” Jess said.
As the conflict in Ukraine continues, The Excellence Center upholds its mission to cultivate a social atmosphere and provide educational programs, cultural programs, and community development activities. The center’s goal is to create an educational and cultural place that aids Germany and refugee communities by providing opportunities for individuals to learn and develop.
“The most important thing for us is to make this cultural connection and to make this type of cultural exchange,” founder Rafat Shantir concluded.
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