– I don’t understand how it is possible for us to go here. In English, Hanna Skitenko (32) and her sister Vira (36) say that they will soon have spent a month on a Norwegian course and adult education at Ellingsrud in Oslo. Around 150 refugees, most of them Ukrainian, receive training there. Within a few weeks, there will be almost 100 more. Move students out The building they are taught in was called Ellingsrud School until this summer. Last year, news wrote about Moiz and his fellow students who fell ill and froze in the classrooms at school. The building does not have a ventilation system. Instead, the windows automatically open whenever there is too little air. The automatic window system means that the windows are opened whenever there is bad air in the classroom. Once the CO₂ levels have decreased, they close again. The picture was taken in November 2021. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Up to 10–15 times a day, the figures showed when news was there this winter. That same autumn, three rooms at the school were closed after mold was found. In February, the city council asked that the Ellingsrud pupils should be moved to temporary premises. They were vacant from the start of school this year, and will remain there until the school is fully rehabilitated – in six years at the earliest. – We are also people Two days after the Ellingsrud pupils started school, the Ukrainian refugees started school in their old building. – I don’t know what to say, says Hanna Skitenko when she hears that they are placed in a building the municipality chose to take the students out of. – We are also human. We come from war, and are “nobody” here. That I understand. But … it’s about our health, she says. Hanna Skitenko (32) says that she fell ill several times during just a couple of weeks at school, due to drafts from the window and the cold. Photo: Thomas Marthinsen / news The Ukrainian woman says she fell ill several times during the first couple of weeks in the venue. Both she and her sister Vira sit by the windowsill. Due to the lack of schools, Hanna has asked the municipality to move them to another school, but has been refused. – They said it was not possible, because there was no room anywhere else. Because there is simply a lack of vacant school buildings in Oslo, according to the Education Agency. The war in Ukraine meant that they quickly had to find a place to teach more refugees. – After thorough assessments, we found that Ellingsrud was the best own available premises, says director Bjørg Novang in the agency’s department for school facilities. Outerwear on inside The Ukrainian sisters would like to learn Norwegian. But struggles to concentrate in cold classrooms. – I should learn Norwegian, but all I can think about is that I’m freezing, says Vira Skitenko. To try to keep warm, they sit with outer clothes inside. The sisters wear outerwear inside to keep warm. They refer to the clothes they are wearing in this picture as winter clothes. Photo: Thomas Marthinsen / news – It is not pleasant if someone sits and freezes in the classroom, but here we have done what we can to improve the situation, says Novang in the Education Agency. Among other things, an extra caretaker has been hired to keep an eye on them. Together with Oslobygg, they are following the situation closely. Fewer in each room The teachers can override the window system and close the windows if they open. Something the municipality believes will happen less often than before: – Fewer people use the school now than before, and fewer rooms are used, so there should also be fewer problems with bad air, says Novang. The school sign has been taken down, while the new signs stating that there is adult education there have been put up in its place. Photo: Thomas Marthinsen / news But the Skitenko sisters think that is not true. The windows in their classroom still go up regularly, they describe. – Today the teacher closed it, but then it opened again after 15 minutes. And when the window is closed there is no air. Fearing winter The two sisters dread winter. – For me, it’s already cold here now, says Hanna Skitenko. And it’s still only September. They are not used to Norwegian winter. Their hometown in Ukraine is located on the Black Sea, in one of the warmest regions in the country. With windows opening all the time, heating up the classrooms doesn’t help either. – When winter comes, it will be a disaster.
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The sisters from Ukraine freeze in the classroom: – We are also human
