In response to the humanitarian crisis that is unfolding in Ukraine and neighbouring countries, a group of CSI Lyon lycée students have established a project to collect donations and arrange for their transport to the people who need them.
Working together to collect essential items and supplies
The project, initiated by a group of four lycée students from different International Sections, has distributed guidelines to staff and students at CSI Lyon detailing how and what to donate. Sought-after items include: first aid and medical supplies; personal hygiene and sanitary protection; nappies and baby food; school stationery, games and toys; torches, batteries and backpacks; and bedding, including sleeping bags and mats. Clothes and food are not being collected at this stage.
The Ville de Lyon is overseeing the collection and distribution of donations in Lyon. Parent-volunteers will transport the donated items to central collection points at regular intervals. The donations will be sorted, packed and eventually transported to refugee centres in Ukraine, Poland and neighbouring countries.
We asked Raphaëlle Muller-Fuega, Anglophone Section Terminale student, to tell us more about the initiative.
Why did you and the other students decide to launch this appeal?
We wanted to do more to show our support and our solidarity, we wanted to act. We realised that the people fleeing Ukraine needed help and that it was our duty to uphold the values that we stand for by doing everything in our power to provide material help as well as psychological support. We are very lucky to live in a protected environment that guarantees our freedom yet that is sadly not the case for everyone and we believed that we could unite CSI students around this cause. Many of us feel very concerned by the current events, some of us are personally affected through our families or origins, this was a way to take action with the aim of bringing assistance to those in need.
How many students are involved and from which sections?
I prepared the initiative with three friends, two from the Polish section and one from Abibac (German Section). We are in charge of all external communication and of supervising the action while taking part in everything. Around 25 other students are involved and are helping by collecting the donations, sorting through them and preparing the boxes that are going to be taken away. Students from all sections (Anglophone, Euro-Anglais, Italian, Euro-Allemande, Arabic, Japanese and Portuguese) as well as students from the secteur have responded to our call for help which demonstrates how this crisis affects and concerns all of us. Although it's mostly Terminale students who are involved, a few Secondes and some Premières have also asked to help.
How much have you collected so far? What do you have to do with the donations?
We have managed to collect quite a lot of items, we will do an official count on our instagram account (@csistandswithukraine) and by email so that everyone in the CSI community is aware of the effort that is put together. The donations will then be taken (approximately once per week) to one of the town halls of Lyon who will then organise transport to their final destination. Concerning the donations that will not be taken by the town halls (such as food) we will bring them to various organisations that will keep them for the refugees that have already started arriving in Lyon.
We have received support from numerous parents as well as the French administration, the Anglophone Section and the Polish Section. We have been able to reach out to different organisations to gather more information on how to truly help.
Where will the donations be sent?
The donations will be sent to Ukraine and to neighbouring countries, such as Poland, where many refugees have fled.
Last word
If you want to do even more, there are many initiatives that are being put in place in Lyon. It is also possible to donate money to various organisations. We hope that you will take part in our action: together we can be of great help to Ukraine and to its citizens.
Parents & students... How to donate to the Ukrainian Humanitarian Appeal UPDATED 21/03/2022
Donations from students and their families can be left at the "foyer du lycée" each morning between 10h40 and 10h50.
Outside this time slot Anglophone Section students can leave donations at the Anglophone Section offices.
Primary pupils can give donations to their Anglophone teachers.
Please consult the list below to see which items are being collected. Please don't bring anything that isn't on the list - we can't donate it and it creates extra work / storage problems for our team.
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