Hand-drawn 'ABC' pictures in Bath libraries to help Ukrainian children learn English
The pictures have been devised by the former Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
Last updated 9th Feb 2023
Hand-drawn ABC pictures to help Ukrainian children learning English are going up in Bath libraries - thanks to inspiration from the former Lord Lieutenant of Somerset.
They've been devised by Annie Maw who is a trustee of Somerset Supports Ukraine which brings local organisations, involved in supporting Ukrainian refugees, together.
Annie said: "I thought it was a gesture of welcome. To do that shows an ordinary member of the general public wanted to do something to help. Children are all the same, and to go through what those children have gone through, and for them to have landed in a country where some of them don't even speak the language, it's quite nice to think that somebody bothered to do something to make it a little bit easier for them.
"It's a way to at least show we are thinking about what their problems are, and helping their children to feel, when they look at the pictures on the wall, that they're not all 'foreign'.
"I've done a similar thing with numbers and nursery rhymes - that's quite difficult to translate into Ukrainian, but be sure - I'm on the case!"
The ABC pictures are going up in the children’s section of Bath, Keynsham and Midsomer Norton Libraries.
Councillor Dine Romero, cabinet member for Children, Young People and Communities, said: “Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine almost 12 months ago, Bath and North East Somerset has welcomed more than four hundred Ukrainian refugees.
“Communities have pulled together to provide homes and support, as well as fundraising and these pictures are a lovely way of reminding Ukrainian families, who use our libraries of our support for them. They are a friendly touch set against the backdrop of wide-ranging support that continues to be provided by the council under the Homes for Ukraine programme, as well as work by organisations including Somerset Supports Ukraine, Bath Welcomes Refugees and more recently Bath’s Friends of Oleksandriya Group.”
As part of local support for Ukrainian families Midsomer Norton Library is running a Storytime with Ukrainian translation for those with under-6's on February 16 from 11.30am-12.30pm.
Bath Welcomes Refugees conversation club and English support group also runs every Thursday from 10-11.30am. The sessions are drop in and anyone is welcome.
The Friends of Oleksandriya Group is holding a fundraising ‘Concert of Warmth and Light for Ukraine at Bath Abbey on 24th February at 7pm. To find out more, click here.
And if you want to offer a home to people fleeing Ukraine, you can find out about becoming a sponsor as part of the Homes for Ukraine scheme.