Alisa’s English School for Ukrainian Refugees is a start-up, not-for-profit organisation providing English language lessons and social support to Ukrainian refugees seeking asylum in London and the South East of England for over 4 years since the outbreak of full-scale war and Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Our charity is headed by Alisa Masokha-Jones, originally from Kyiv and now living in the UK for over 20 years. She has a CELTA qualification (Certificate in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) from Cambridge University. Together with a dedicated group of Ukrainian and Russian speaking volunteers - with years of experience teaching English abroad in Mexico, South Korea, Ukraine and beyond - the charity offers 3 hours of tailored teaching per week (1.5 hours on Monday and Thursday evenings respectively) in Harris Academy Peckham.

What sets Alisa’s English School for Ukrainian Refugees apart is that we are the only organisation that provides teaching and support in the native language of our refugee students. Our contributions to the Ukrainian community have been publicised across local and national media, including a dedicated segment on The Russell Howard Hour on Sky.

The positive outcomes of our school are determined by the proven abilities for students to access working and educational opportunities in the UK, start their own business and move from host families to their own housing arrangements. This shows the practical application of our English lessons, allowing Ukrainian refugees to make meaningful contributions to British society, to reciprocate the kindness and generosity from being hosted amidst the humanitarian crisis in their home country.

Classes will always be free, and there is no charge required for Ukrainian students nor volunteer participants to contribute. However, we do require some financial support to cover the costs of room rentals, books and learning resources for the students.

We are going strong into our 4th year and we have received partial funding from Southwark Council, which helps us to go on steadily. We set up this Gofundme as our prior fundraising platform which received over £4k in donations is now outdated. We will forever be grateful to everyone who has donated to help us get to where we are today, we couldn’t have achieved what we have for the Ukrainian refugee community without your support.

If you are unable to contribute, please consider sharing to raise awareness and visibility of our cause. The humanitarian situation in Ukraine is deteriorating into the 4th year of full-scale war, and we are always working to support a greater intake of students.