Since Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, over 8 million Ukrainian refugees have traveled through Poland, with over 1.58 million staying there. Upon fleeing the war, many refugee mothers and educators saw an immediate need to setup educational infrastructure for the large influx of Ukrainian refugee children. In Poland's capital city of Warsaw, Natalia Voloshko and Olesya Kovalchuk did just that -- igniting Children of Ukraine Educational Center. Meanwhile, across the Atlantic, hip hop artist Chad Harper found himself heartbroken to see so many Ukrainian children's lives uprooted as refugees. As founder and CEO of Hip Hop Saves Lives, Harper travels the world connecting with youth and mentoring them to write and recording songs around social issues. Called to encourage the voices of Ukrainian youth refugees, he traveled to Warsaw in October 2022. Over the course of a week, the children composed a song and recorded this music video in their native language, celebrating Ukrainian voice and identity on the streets in front of their Warsaw school. The effort was made possible in collaboration with Kelsey Rae and Jeffrey Aresty of Peace Tones, as well as New York photographer Kristin Slaby. Harper is currently is South Africa working on the next community music project.
Watch video below. |