North Yorkshire veteran makes Buddy Box for Afghan refugee schoolchildren

Mark Hill said he wants Afghan refugee children to feel welcomed in UK schools

An armed forces veteran from North Yorkshire has created a digital Buddy Box for Afghan refugee children to learn English in school.

The free online resource uses text, pictures and audio to translate Afghan languages Dari and Pashto into English.

Mark Hill, 52, said he had the idea when he heard of evacuation flights from Afghanistan, and he wanted to help young people feel welcome in the UK.

The Buddy Box is now being used in more than 50 schools in the UK and Europe.

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The Catterick entrepreneur said the service which covers topics including days of the week, numbers, colours, fruits and vegetables, school items and the time, is for teachers to use in the classroom.

The Buddy Box takes its name from the practice of pairing new schoolchildren with a buddy who helps them settle in.

Mr Hill said the feedback he had so far had been "amazing".

"One teacher in Selby told me it was just a picture to see this young boy's face when he heard his own accent, his own language," Mr Hill recalls.

"If you are coming out of Afghanistan [...] regardless of where you settle around the world, you still speak your native language."

Families have been trying to flee Afghanistan following the rapid advance of the Taliban

Mr Hill said he initially created physical Buddy Boxes in 2018 with cardboard boxes containing 60 Arabic and English flashcards, after meeting Syrian and Iraqi refugee children on a school visit in North Yorkshire.

He said he spoke to the children in Arabic and "noticed instantly the kids had beaming smiles".

"If you have a simple, basic language to communicate with others in their language, it really goes a long way," he said.