– This is an example of a collaboration that can make a difference in the lives of school children.
That’s what city councilor Eirik Lae Solberg (H) says. He visits OsloKollega, which employs people with a need for extra facilitation in working life, together with the Ukrainian embassy and the Norwegian Education and Skills Agency (UKE).
The cooperation comes as a result of the brutal warfare in Ukraine, there 600,000 Ukrainian school children have had to move their school lessons online. Half of these are not allowed to go to school because they lack the necessary computer equipment.
– Thousands of Ukrainian schools have been destroyed. The aim of this project is to provide education to the communities in Ukraine that have suffered the most in the war, and that really need that help, says First Secretary at the Ukrainian Embassy, Oksana Gaiduchok.
The project was first launched by the Ukrainian Olena Zelenska Foundation, together with Ukraine’s Ministry of Education and Science and Ministry of Digitization. The embassy contacted Oslo municipality to ask for a contribution to the project.
– The initiative sends a message that we are not only concerned about what is happening now, but that we are also looking into the future. That we care about our children. That is what makes the project so special, because it is the children who are most vulnerable, she says.
So far, 973 computers have been collected and approximately 250 are ready to be forwarded to educational institutions in Ukraine. OsloKollega expects many more during the next year.
With the help of the organization PUTE, which works to transport aid and equipment to Ukraine, two trucks with computer equipment will be sent to the educational institutions in Ukraine during November. It has not yet been determined which region.
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– Win-win-win
– The fact that there was an inquiry from the embassy was very good timing. There are many things that have worked together, says Lae-Solberg.
Last autumn, Oslo municipality received notice from the Ukrainian embassy about the need for computer equipment in the middle of an ongoing project to upgrade the municipality’s computers.
– Then we can make our contribution by using the PCs in Oslo municipality, which will anyway be upgraded, but which work well for Ukrainian schoolchildren, says Lae Solberg.
The municipality contacted OsloKollega, who ensured quality assurance and secure deletion of the PCs.
– It’s win-win-win, so it’s been a great honor for us to be allowed to do this, says head of department at OsloKollega, Merete Jangås.
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– An example to follow
Peter Frølich (H) is chairman of the organisation Free Ukrainewhich collects equipment for the Ukrainian forces in Ukraine. He is also chairman of the Storting’s Control and Constitution Committee.
The organization itself sends computers to Ukrainian soldiers and their command centers, and Frølich has seen with his own eyes what such initiatives do for the vulnerable communities in Ukraine.
– I really applaud this initiative. Around 4,000 schools in Ukraine have been bombed. For comparison, there is 2,700 primary schools in Norway. Every single computer will make a difference to Ukrainian schoolchildren, he says.
He believes that Oslo municipality has given good support to Ukraine.
– The city council has given around 15 million to build a ward for injured soldiers. They have also taken in Ukrainian school children at their own expense. It is an example for many other municipalities to follow.
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