On the last day of July, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine\u2019s capital, Kyiv, the bloodiest one this year: 300 drones and eight missiles killed 31 people. On the same day, 700km (435 miles) away in a camp near the city of Svalyava in the Carpathian mountains, 30 children are roasting marshmallows. Most of the children live in Kyiv, but for now, they are at the Zefir summer camp.<\/p>\n
Sofia, 15, from Uzhhorod, dresses up for a theatre performance.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
During the camp\u2019s 10 days, there are no air raid alarms, and no one goes to shelters even once. It\u2019s the longest period without an alarm or attack for many of these children since March 2022.<\/p>\n
Many check their phones one extra time this Thursday. Are their families OK? Their friends?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the Ukrainian couple Tetiana and Alex Svatenkova who welcomed the children to the summer retreat about a week ago. The camp takes place at a hotel in the mountains, an hour from the Polish border.<\/p>\n
The days are filled with role-playing, water fights, theatre and dance. The children, aged between nine and 16, come from most parts of Ukraine. However, most live in Kyiv in central Ukraine, while others are from the eastern city of Dnipro.<\/p>\n
Most of them came here because they wanted to do something fun during their summer holiday. But they are also here for another reason: to escape, even briefly, from the intensity of the war.<\/p>\n
According to Tetiana, who holds a PhD in psychology, the camp provides a much-needed respite for the children.<\/p>\n
The camp has existed since 2017, and back then, it was held in Kyiv. But when the war broke out, Tetiana and Alex had to move it to a safer location, which is how the children ended up here in the mountains.<\/p>\n
There is a big difference among the children Tetiana hosted in her camp before and after the war, she says. It is especially their social skills that have changed. The constant uncertainty has left its mark.<\/p>\n
Mykolya, 15, Nizjyn Sviatoslav, 15, Yelyzaveta, 13, and Oleksandra, 13, all from Kyiv, on an afternoon trip to the nearest kiosk<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
\u201cBefore the war, the children were more open to new experiences and relationships. They tried more things,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why their work is now even more important, Tetiana believes. With her husband, she hosts about 500 children every year. There are already many different types of camp schools in Ukraine, she explains.<\/p>\n
\u2018I didn\u2019t want to sit at home all summer doing nothing\u2019: Artem, 12, lives in a town quite close to the camp, unlike most of the others.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
But the couple decided to start their own camp. They wanted to control the number of children in each group and ensure there weren\u2019t too many, so they are able to be present with all of them.<\/p>\n
They never even considered shutting down the camp after the war broke out.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can see that the children are generally more nervous. They are not afraid of spiders; they are afraid of the future. That\u2019s why our sanctuary here is more important than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zorya, 6, the daughter of the camp hosts Tetiana and Alex, spends all summer with different children in the camp.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Tetiana knows that neither two people with PhDs in social pedagogy, which her husband holds, and psychology nor 10 days without air raid alarms can solve the problems the war creates in the children\u2019s lives.<\/p>\n
But the time spent here in the camp can still give the children some confidence, she says.<\/p>\n
With her husband and three team leaders, they try to identify each child\u2019s individual strengths and then place them in situations that could push them in a positive direction. They arrange each camp differently, according to the needs they observe in the children.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor example, if someone is good at dancing, that person will help organise the discos in the evening. That kind of self-confidence, we believe, they will take home with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeriia, 15, from Kyiv, sits with Veronika, 15, from Dnipro<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Exactly such a skilled dancer is here this week. Valeriia, 15, from Kyiv. She \u201cloves everything\u201d about being at the camp, but her favourite activity is clearly the disco with its loud music and movements.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes when the instructors are tired, I can take over for them and lead the other children in the moves,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Valeriia, 15, and Arina, 16, locks hands at the disco.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Each evening ends with all 30 children on the dancefloor. Tetiana rhythmically leads them through the same moves to songs that include the Kpop hit Soda Pop or Pitbull\u2019s Timber. For more than an hour, the children dance in a circle until sweat glistens on their faces.<\/p>\n
Time spent away from air raid sirens feels strange, says Nika, 12, who lives in Kyiv.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are no alarms here. It\u2019s really nice. But I\u2019m really worried about my mom and my family while I\u2019m here. I\u2019ve called them every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Veronika, 15, from the eastern city of Dnipro, also finds it nice to take a break from the intensity of the war. At home, she hears the alarm between three and four times a day.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere [at the camp], we are so far away from Russia. There\u2019s no danger, no alarms,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have so many activities here that I can get distracted. At home, I\u2019m constantly thinking about the war because the danger is so close with Russia right next to us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Valeriia, 15, from Kyiv, Daniil, 14, from Kyiv Veronika, 15, from Dnipro and Arina, 16, from Kyiv.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Veronika\u2019s family moved to Poland when the war broke out but decided to return to Dnipro a year later, where they still live. She is at the camp with her younger brother Max, 13, for the second year in a row.<\/p>\n
It was their mother who suggested they go. Veronika is glad she did. She has made several friends here, whom she\u2019s happy to see again this year.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s become particularly good friends with Valeriia. Together, they\u2019ve painted matching henna designs on their left arms and are wearing matching socks and shoes.<\/p>\n
Since the couple started the camp in 2017, Tetiana has been measuring the children\u2019s social competencies. It\u2019s something she brought with her from her work as a psychologist.<\/p>\n
After the war, she noticed that the children have become worse at regulating their emotions. Many of them were very young when the war started. It has been right in the middle of some very formative years and the children may have lost some basic skills. One consequence of this is the children\u2019s use of mobile phones.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow they look at their phones even more than before,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Overuse and addiction to phones are not unique issues for Ukrainian children, but Tetiana believes it serves a specific function for them. It represents a form of control, she says.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen they\u2019re holding it, I don\u2019t think they feel as much in danger,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Phones are everywhere at the camp, even more so on the day of the particularly deadly explosions in Kyiv. The children scroll through one short video after another. One of the older boys in the group, Daniil from Kyiv, is also on his phone this Thursday morning.<\/p>\n
With music from the band Deftones in his ears, he swings back and forth on the swing at the back of the yard for half an hour before the day\u2019s activities officially begin. For one of Daniil\u2019s good friends at the camp, Veronika, 15, from Dnipro, her phone is also the first thing she grabs during an attack. She always checks the news right away when she hears explosions back home.<\/p>\n
\u201cRecently, I heard a very loud bang. My windows shook. I think I was in shock and immediately checked my phone to find out what happened,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
After a tearful farewell with the team leaders, the children head back to Kyiv together. Some get off in Lviv on the way, others are heading farther east. Tetiana travels with the children.<\/p>\n
Two days later, she\u2019s on the bus back to the camp with a new group of summer camp children.<\/p>\n
Yelyzaveta, 13, from Kyiv, lies down for a break during an afternoon game in the yard.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On the last day of July, Russia launched an attack on Ukraine\u2019s capital, Kyiv, the bloodiest one this…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":386751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7654],"tags":[2000,299,657],"class_list":{"0":"post-386750","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-ukraine","8":"tag-eu","9":"tag-europe","10":"tag-ukraine"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115122214208230455","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=386750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/386750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/386751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=386750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=386750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=386750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}