M
any people in the UK are showing their
support for the people of Ukraine
by finding ways to help those affected
by the invasion. The Government has
introduced ways to help Ukrainian
people who have left their homes to
escape the fighting.
What is the Government doing?
The UK Government has said it will
provide £220 million in emergency aid for
Ukraine. It also said that some family members
of British citizens who live in Ukraine can come
to the UK. When The Week Junior went to press,
these included parents, grandparents, children over
18 years old and siblings of those who live in the
UK. However, many people say the
Government is not doing enough.
Why are people calling
for more to be done?
People are calling on the UK
Government to do more to
welcome Ukrainian refugees
to the country. Refugees are
people who have been forced
to leave their homes because of
war or the threat of violence. At the
moment, Ukrainian refugees who are
not close relatives of British citizens cannot come
to the UK very easily. Some people believe that all
Ukrainians fleeing should be welcomed to the UK.
What are people in the UK doing?
People around the UK have been raising money and
giving clothes, bedding and medical supplies to
charities to send to Ukrainian refugees in countries
in eastern Europe. In Yorkshire, England, a woman
called Magdalena Timmins put out a call asking for
donations. Within a few days she had received enough
items to fill three large lorries. “It’s overwhelming,”
Timmins told the Guardian newspaper.
There have also been calls not to be unkind to
Russian people. One mother, Yvette, wrote on social
media, “It is important to teach children that we must
not hate the people of Russia, Ukraine or anywhere
else for fighting. We are all human beings.” A Russian
person who lives in the UK wrote on social media,
“Nobody wants war. War means losses on both sides.”
WORD WEEK
OF
THE
In Old English, springan meant “jump”. Spring
was also applied to a place where water rises
from the ground. Centuries later, the idea of
new growth springing up in
March or April led to that
season being called “the
spring of the year”,
and later as simply
“spring”.
SPRING
THIS WEEK IN HISTORY
On 6 March 1957, crowds gathered in Ghana’s
capital city, Accra, to greet the country’s first prime
minister, Kwame Nkrumah. Sixty-five years ago,
the west African country gained independence
from Britain, which controlled the region known
as the Gold Coast from 1874 to 1957. Following
independence, Ghana became a republic (a country
where the government is elected by the people),
and it remains a republic today.
6 March 1957
Ghana celebrated independence
How the UK is helping Ukraine
Ralph, who is 13 years old and
lives in the UK, has relatives and
friends in Ukraine. He told The
Week Junior, “I feel like what
Ukraine is going through right
now is devastating. A completely
innocent population is having to
shelter and go through so much
stress.” Ralph said one of his
friends, Varya, aged 12, has not
been going to school and has
had to shelter in a basement for
the last few days. “We all hope
that all Ukrainians stay strong
and don’t give up,” Ralph said.
Donations for Ukrainian
refugees are loaded into a van.
A reader’s view
Children help
with donations.
Kwame
Nkrumah
UK news
The Week Junior • 5 March 2022
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