We are Czech and Slovak school and community organisation Okenko in London and we provide education for children and adults as well as community activities and events.

Okenko was established in 2012 with three families and since then has grown into an organisation that provides education to over 150 children and organises cultural events for over 200 families. It has been quite a journey. The organisation thrives thanks to the effort and energy of a group of dedicated enthusiasts who are prepared to put time and passion into our amazing organisation, often alongside our regular jobs, our families, our children (for them).

It is not easy for our children to be multilingual and to have multicultural identities. Although it is a strength and an advantage, it can also be quite a challenge at times. Being part of the community brings new friends, enriches their knowledge about the world, and it is fun, but it does not necessarily come easily, they work hard and we are very very proud of them.

Just like in other communities, there are number of families that are part of our community that are financially struggling during current cost of living crisis. This is why we have decided to create a dedicated fund for Families in need that aims to support multilingual families that are facing challenges.

For the fundraising, we decided to push ourselves and our rambling team Kamzik (chamois) embarked on Three Peak Challenge, climbing highest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland. We have started with Snowdon (1085m), the highest mountain in Wales which we climbed on 8th June 2019. We then climbed Scafell Pike (978m), the highest mountain in England on 4th June 2021. And we are now prepared to finish our challenge and climb the highest mountain in Scotland as well as in the whole of UK, Ben Nevis (1345m). Wish us luck and please do support our fundraising campaign Okenko Families in need.

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