Help Children from Ukrainian East

Despite the melancholic nature, autumn gave rise to two new initiatives in the project «ATO Children» . What? You'll find out at the end of our little report. Before the story about autumn, it is necessary to refresh memory about the past summer. This summer gave birth to our very fruitful autumn activities.
Under the project «ATO Children» organization of the Ukrainian Diaspora in the United States «Razom for Ukraine» sent 30 backpacks and stationaries for the children of dead , seriously wounded and mobilized ATO soldiers . Each year the organization’s volunteers within the limits of one of their initiatives, namely « Toy Drive for kids of fallen Ukrainian heroes», choose several Ukrainian public organizations in accordance with the intensity of their activities and help them to provide children with the stationery before a beginning of a school year. In this year they selected 8 non-profit organizations. Sumy, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Kharkiv, Khmelnytsky, Chernihiv and Kyiv will receive school stationaries . Just this year they sent 232 school bags with stationeries .

The first thing September inspired us to do is changing our traditions concerning the organization of kids’ leisure time. They were more focused on the disclosure of the creative potential of the child and that is noticeable from our previous references. This autumn we decided to change the vector of our free time. In September, October and November participants had an opportunity to visit quest-rooms absolutely free of charge. So children solved Vincent van Gogh’s mysteries, plunged into Harry Potter’s atmosphere and quickly organized the escaping from the most well-protected prison – Alcatraz. The quest-rooms challenge made children become a real team, because for their victory they had to coordinate their acts, to arrange with each other, listen attentively. According to the gotten results (especially the time passed in the quest – rooms) , we can make a conclusion that they could become so called «one organism». One of the most important aspects of the kids’ development and becoming them as a personality is changing an activity. Children are able to check themselves in different spheres. So, in this case it’s easy to see a more or less real picture of their skills, talents , which need improvement.

Of course, we haven`t left aside the results of humanitarian assistance. Finally the necessary, relevant and required help was delivered to Sumy city across borders, countries and difficulties. The volunteer team and families of the "Children of ATO" project were waiting for Clothes, toys, diapers and shoes from the German activists. This October our project enlisted two new members! In displaced families the girl Masha and the boy Bohdan were born a day apart. Over the two years of the war, much has changed, it became more difficult to get help and find support. Deep gratitude to the German activists of the AG Ukraine-Chemnitz-Europa e.V., who despite the distance and another citizenship are still keeping in touch, help and inspire. As for new initiatives, the Social English language school has started its activity for internally displaced persons and the Saturday pastime club - within the framework of the project "Children of ATO".

Saturday pastime club is a kind of free extracurricular school for cultural, sporting and emotional development of children from the category "children of ATO", children from vulnerable groups of society and volunteers’ children. We have the aim to create a free Sumy Center for Children, which will help vulnerable groups of society and will become a vehicle for all-round development of a child.
Each week the defined program of different workshops and lessons for children is arranged. It allows to develop comprehensively the target group. Classes consist of a creative component (workshops), a sports component (Yoga / Fitness / choreography), an educational component (funny English / lectures of the Sumy State University Medical Institute) and an entertaining component (Movie Club / excursions).

Children (age from 6 to16) from families of inwardly moved persons have an opportunity to visit English lessons. There interesting and useful literature, needed materials, systematic lessons wait for them. Social English school will work from November, 2016 for June, 2017. It should be noted that the lessons are free of charge. Also, children are fully provided with an office and necessary educational materials. In addition to ordinary lessons of studying grammar and vocabulary of the English language in accordance with select methodical material, thematic lessons will be conducted for celebrations of traditional holidays of the USA and Great Britain.