Volunteers' support

Life in a camp makes children and volunteers very close - during these 5-7 days you experience things that were previously unavailable to such an extent - a huge all-absorbing stream- and for a child it provides contact with the outside world.

This is a very important but at the same time scary experience, so it is significant that there is a person, who can give support, who can calm down and give the sense of security. And who can still help to reveal your inner potential, who will remain thoughtful and attentive to your needs and who will give you the opportunity to get your own new impressions - the person who will support your initiative.

To do it, and also just to relax by diving into the busy life of a big city, we had a small 6-day trip around Saint Petersburg.  Our group consisted of 5 children and 5 volunteers. We lived right in the city center, in the hostel Mini-mani on Marata street. We ate in one of the best and diverse places in Saint Petersburg - in the restaurant OBED BUFET.  Also we saw some theatrical performances in Karlsson Hauss and in the museum of mitten, walked in the Tauride park, enjoyed the underwater world in the aquarium and went along the entire Nevsky Prospect on foot.

Natasha (volunteer) and Helya

Generally saying, my impression of the camp is very positive. Every day was something new, walks and complete immersion into the society. What about my work with the child - the child was clean, well-fed, dressed, got good sleep. Nothing outstanding happened. Helya liked the puppet show, she also found the Aquarium quite interesting.

Maria (art therapist) and Liza:

Walks with Liza.
Question:What’s the difference between a tram and a trolleybus?

A tram is red and beautiful. And a trolleybus is blue and scary like a green bus. When crossing the street we always lift our hand towards the cars standing on the traffic lights. They don’t move, wait for us. The traffic lights are red, but Liza always whispers: “Carefully... Carefully...” And I repeat the same word in my head. 

Here’s the park. Everything is green. We are sitting by the pond with ducks and seagulls. We are calm, but as soon as they fly up in the air we need to run away. Our peaceful state of mind comes to an end.

The city is still strange and frightening for Liza, but at the same time it’s very attractive, she wants to look, touch and learn. To walk along the streets, look at the houses, study the cars on the road, sit in a cafe where there is a potato cut in circles, a juicy watermelon and always something chocolate, avoid the hatches, read the names of the stores and always hold our hands.

Anastasia (volunteer) and Svyatozar:

The most important thing for me was that the child communicated with other children and, I can say, he became friends with his roommate, Dima. They played together, fooled around, copied each other. When we were going for a walk Dima said that Svyatozar was his friend. 

It was also good that one could choose. In all situations. From food to the way back home (if one would really want it). You could watch the performance or you could miss it. We couldn’t watch one until the end, but we had a great time walking together in the museum of mitten.

Svyatozar amost never makes a choice so it’s both easy and difficult to deal with him. He will certainly show it if he doesn’t want something. But he won’t say what he wants. He would just follow you and do what you say. So you should always make suggestions. Of course, the camp allows you to see the child in a different way.

You can listen to music together, dance while walking, chat a lot, find out about your preferences, learn something you didn’t know. Take shower every evening. Not just take shower, but really enjoy it. Take everything that’s lying around. Have a shelf for your own things and know that nobody would touch it (but it’s not for sure). And much more.

Svyatozar for the first time in his life travelled on the escalator, he didn’t like the elevator much.He got used to the escalators very soon, just like to Nevsky.In general, our biggest achievement is that we were learning how to walk, walk calmly with everybody.With rare exceptions (traffic lights) Svyatozar didn’t pull me anywhere.
When you start remembering, you want to tell every detail...

One feels especially strange in the first morning. You wake up, look at them, sleepy and sweet, and for a moment forget about everything... forget about that they are some special kids, forget why you are here and what’s going on. You look and see that your child is amazing.

Sabina (coordinator) and Sonya:

It was the first camp for Sonya. At first, she had so many emotions that they couldn’t fit in her small body. She cried and was moody, laughed and jumped, bit and sang - she was so full of new impressions. You couldn’t meet her curiosity, she was interested in everything: people, streets, rivers, the Aquarium, lunches, hostel, etc.

By the end of the camp, Sonya relaxed and started to take everything around her for granted. She started to smile and laugh more, stopped crying from fright.

Varya (integration specialist) and Dima:

It was the third time that Dima and I spend in the camp... I’m really glad to see that he has grown up, matured, how he learned to overcome inner conflicts that occur form confrontation with this world.

Dima is a charming boy. He is also active and is very quickly captured by new experiences. The city fascinated him. He wanted to go for walks, eat ice cream, travel on escalators, play with water by filling the sink with it and then putting away his hands and seeing how it disappears... He liked to take part in cooking breakfasts for other  children - Dima washed the dishes and quietly ate cheese and fruit during cooking. He found out that a waffle cone is edible, tried olives, a black Burger and fell in live with carrot rissoles. 

Dima liked theatrical performances the most - the performance about the Moomins in Karlsson Hauss and the puppet show in the museum of mitten. My boy was fascinated by the performance, he clapped his hands...

Also he became friends with our neighbors - Nastya and Svyatozar. And he even came up with a funny joke about Svyatozar’s name and was always repeating it because we liked it and laughed.

The most important achievement for Dima is that he learned to wait. His brashness and uncompromising attitude even two years ago really shocked me and I couldn’t make to his reactions in time. Now you could always reach an agreement with Dima. Even when he was anxious he was ready to communicate and accepted my consolation and support.