The Estonian Refugee Council pays one-off school support to all school-age children receiving international protection or temporary protection who start school for the first time in Estonia. The purpose of the support is to help children with refugee backgrounds going to school in Estonia for the first time to cover basic school-related expenses. A lump-sum allowance of 50 euros per child shall be paid into the parent’s or guardian’s bank account upon request. 

“It is never easy to be a war refugee: having lost your whole life, it is also difficult for a child to enter a new environment and start a new life. Multi-purpose cash assistance gives the family an opportunity to decide for themselves and acquire exactly what the child needs most to go to school,” said Anu Viltrop, Head of Support Services at the Estonian Refugee Council.

To apply for the lump sum grant, an application form (available in Estonian, Ukrainian, Russian, English) must be filled in on the website of the Estonian Refugee Council. The application must be submitted by the parent or guardian of the child and the allowance is paid into the applicant’s bank account within ten working days. At the time of application, the child must be admitted to the school. 

As of the end of last week, according to the Ministry of Education and Research, nearly 2,000 Ukrainian war refugees had reached comprehensive schools, upper secondary schools and vocational schools across Estonia.

The school support is paid for by donations by Estonian people. In addition to providing school support, the Estonian Refugee Council, in cooperation with its partners, will offer various group counselling and psychological counselling to Ukrainian war refugees who have arrived here. At the same time, ongoing advisory services and the mediation of long-term accommodation offers will continue.

Since 2015, the Estonian Refugee Council has been distributing school supplies and school support at the beginning of each school year to children of residents close to the East Ukrainian front. The Estonian Refugee Council will certainly continue to provide school support also in Ukraine.