In August of 2009,
UCARE co-sponsored, along with Priyateli Ditey, a summer camp for Ukrainian
orphans which was held in the village of Kolochava, Zakarpattya oblast. Children from seven orphanages attended, spending three glorious weeks
in the fresh air of the Carpathian mountains. Also attending were UCARE
volunteers Nadia and Askold Haywas from California, and Luba Petrusha
from Detroit.
The all-volunteer staff included many of our stipendiaty, who acted both as camp counselors for the children, and taught maysterni (master classes) in various arts and skills.
The video was created by our Ukrainian volunteer, Dima Samarskyi.
Summer Camps (Tabir)
UCARE has been participating in
summer camps for orphans in Ukraine since 1995. Many of our members have
sacrificed their summer vacation time to work as counselors, teachers, doctors
and nurses at camps throughout Ukraine.
The first camp was in 1995, and had
only thirty children participating. More recent camps have had between 350 and
450 children (most aged 12-18) enjoying the scenery and fresh air of the
Carpathian mountains. The camps have been cosponsored by Priyateli Ditey
(Friends of Children) of Ukraine and Help Us Help the Children of Canada. UCARE
has helped both with funding and personnel.
In 2006 UCARE ran its first solo
camp in Crimea, near Yalta and the Black Sea shore. It was a much smaller camp
- two sessions of twenty teens each − because the facility was much smaller. It
became and art and culture camp. You can read more about it and see some photos
here.
UCARE has also worked with
Priyateli Ditey of Ukraine to help with their summer camps, including short
camps on a cruise ship.
In 2008 we helped Priyateli Diey with their summer camp in the Zakarpattya region of Ukraine and sent several orphans to a Kozak camp in the Chernivtsi region.
