Ukrainian Refugees Receive Messages Of Hope From Vienna Students

VIENNA, VA — Students at Freedom Hill Elementary School in Vienna wrote stacks of cards to Ukrainian refugees for their principal to deliver on his spring break trip to Germany.

Principal Nicholas Zapadka had nothing planned for spring break and had spent time studying in Cologne, Germany, during college. He decided to travel to Cologne in early April to help Ukrainian refugees who had arrived at a Red Cross refugee camp in Germany.

In the days leading up to his trip to Germany, Zapadka emailed the school’s staff, sharing his plans and offering to take any donations with him. Students at Freedom Hill Elementary wanted to make cards, and staff members wanted to make contributions.

A teacher’s mother began knitting hats, while the school’s fifth and sixth graders used Google Translate to write their cards into Ukrainian, hand-copying the foreign alphabet in Cyrillic script as best they could.

“I was scared I might have bad handwriting. But I knew I had to try. I wanted to get my message across,” Freedom Hill sixth-grader Rivaan Verma told Fairfax County Public Schools communications specialist Jennifer Sellers. “I told them to stay strong and that I am beside them. I told them don’t forget your home country. Think of the positive things. And I wrote them a joke to cheer them up.”

Laura Savage, the mother of a Freedom Hill special education teacher, wanted to offer comfort to children fleeing the war in Ukraine. When she heard about Zapadka’s trip to Germany, she started knitting eight hats, all in different colors, for the principal to deliver to anyone who needed one.

“I just wanted to make sure they had a warm head, for starters,” Savage told FCPS. “I wanted them to know that people all over the world are concerned about their wellbeing and want to do whatever small things we can do to help.”

Zapadka spent five days in Germany in early April. As part of his volunteer work, he helped guide dozens of families to a Red Cross refugee camp in Germany.

Upon his return to school after spring break, Freedom Hill students wanted to hear about his trip and how their cards were received.

“I wanted to show the students here — your little action here in Vienna, Virginia can cause a ripple effect across the world," Zapadka said. "It can create a lot of happiness. Even if it’s just a card those kids can hold on to while they’re on the train to that next unknown destination. It can make a big difference.”