Trip to Ukraine
The most meaningful work trip this past year by far was our trip to Ukraine in April. We flew from Sofia to Bucharest, and then from there, we flew to Suceava, a town close to the Ukrainian border. We slept there, and the next day, we took a bus to Chernivtsi, where we spent a few days together with women and children who were affected by the war.
By affected, I mean that they had their husbands and fathers dead or fighting. They were receiving a three-week psychological treatment to be able to cope with reality or, as they said it, to see the light again and to have the will to continue living. This was the 30th of those camps. Organized by the Vaad of Ukraine together with other local organizations and supported by the WJC. We spoke with the organizers, the psychologists, the mothers, and their children.
The idea behind the program is to minimize the PTSD as much as possible. I was there with Juli, with whom we have worked for the last few years. There weren’t many males around, and the kids really wanted to be with us, play with us, watch TV with us, and somehow channel their energy.
Two of those kids stood out. A little boy named Kiril, whose father and grandfather were dead and whose mother had decided to go and fight, so he was there with his grandmother. He was five years old, and he had so much energy. He was very tough to handle. He fell in love with U-lee. Every time he saw him, he would run towards him and hug him around his neck. It was difficult to separate them when it was time for bed or lunch. I had a similar thing with a little girl called Kira, who only wanted to be hugged. Neither U-lee nor I speak Ukrainian, yet we had a perfect understanding with these kids.
I hope that they are OK.
War sucks.
