Celebrating Achievements and Building the Future of Gateway to Education

On the 20th of March, HealthProm hosted an event to showcase the findings and achievements of our Gateway to Education Project activities. This project, which ended in March 2025, aided Afghan and Ukrainian refugee children by providing supplementary education and mental health support, seeking to address education inequalities for young refugees and migrants. The Gateway to Education project took place across multiple London boroughs and reached over 200 young Afghan and Ukrainian refugees. 

  The event, entitled ‘HealthProm - Celebrating Achievements and Building the Future’, began with Project Manager Masood Amer introducing the project and how it began. He emphasised that this project was not just about learning academic skills, but also about helping many participants who felt lonely and isolated find a community once again. These activities are only an insight into the holistic work of HealthProm, with Masood having stated that:  

  "The process goes on. We have played a small part in re-establishing their lives in the UK.” 

Our Afghan Project Coordinators Hamida Hussaini and Benafsha Yaqubi presented some information about the Afghan activities of the project, sharing insights into the Saturday classes which offered GCSE Mathematics, English and language classes for students. Benafsha shared that while the project started with just 7 students, HealthProm was able to collaborate with other local organisations like the Farsi Action Foundation to build better links and grow our reach.  

 Hamida shared the importance of instilling wellbeing and confidence in children by encouraging them to remain connected with their heritage, through Dari and Farsi classes. One of the highlights for students was attending the PGL Summer Camp, where they tried archery, zip-lining, raft building, climbing, swings and learnt some general outdoor survival skills. Alongside this, children attended monthly cinema trips, pottery clubs and trampoline parks.  

  Our Ukrainian Project Coordinators Oksana Fomenko and Olena Vysotka shared a video of the children in their classes and activities. In total, the project was able to reach 224 students, with happiness levels increasing from an average of 5.5 to 8.5. According to regular surveys conducted by the staff, 98% of participants' mental health improved.  

 Beneficiaries came forward to speak about their powerful stories from the project. One young beneficiary from Ukraine said: 

  “I really like this club because it helps me learn even more of who I am. Finding friends is easier for me and this group teaches me things like Maths and Art that I really like. It makes me feel that I can do whatever I want in the world and all my dreams can come true.” 

  One of the Ukrainian English teachers shared:  

  “Teaching English to Ukrainian students has been such a rewarding experience. I could see the progress, the enthusiasm and the determination and it has been truly inspiring. I would like to say thank you to HealthProm not just for this project but for providing job opportunities for Ukrainians.” 

At the end of the event, HealthProm's project coordinators handed out certificates to the ‘graduated’ students, awarding them for all their hard work. The presentation ended with HealthProm’s Director of Operations Tanya Buynovskaya speaking about the impact of the work and summarising all it has achieved.  

We concluded the evening with a dinner and networking session, where funders, staff and beneficiaries had the chance to meet each other.  

  Going forward, HealthProm seeks to build on the expertise and knowledge honed from this project and we are actively seeking funding to build on the successful work completed in the last year.