Hi, my name is Lessia Jarboe and I am teaching Ukrainian to college students in California. I'm originally from Ukraine and have a well-established relationship with educators in Ukraine.

It is well known that bilingual children gain significant benefits in cognitive and social development. English becomes the lingua franca of the modern world and the brutal war in Ukraine demonstrates the necessity of English knowledge for Ukrainians. We are not aware of appropriate bilingual English-Ukrainian books for the youngest kids. We are going to develop, illustrate and publish such bilingual books for different levels, starting with the alphabet.

Due to the war, many Ukrainian children are suffering from PTSD. We are also going to develop and publish funny and entertaining books to mitigate the horrific circumstances they are experiencing.

We have developed a good working relationship with Margaryta Michalchyna in Rivne Ukraine and have published a bilingual book for advanced readers already. The text and illustration for the book were done in the US and were transmitted to Ukraine where it was published and printed. We hope to continue our collaboration and create new books suitable for beginners level. Money is being used to cover the costs of developing text, illustration and publishing new books. Right now we are working with preschools and libraries in Rivne, where the books can be published. There is interest in this type of book in Kyiv and Lviv and publishing them will satisfy the needs.