Tatjana, 27 years old, studied law, works in the real estate sector and as a volunteer in a summer camp

»I work as a volunteer in the camp and I am in charge for many things. For example I'm responsible for the organisation of sports and music programs, I arrange photo and video courses and try to get to know the children better.
I want to know what the children believe, because faith and prayer have a very great impact on me. In regard to my work, I try not to address the children's war topic and also I avoid building a too strong bond with the children so that they will not suffer if they don't see me any more after the camp. Of course, I'm always assisting the children in the camp, listening and talking to them. I try to bring a lot of affection especially to the children who lost their parents.
I'm most impressed when children ask me to pray for something, for example to make their father love them again or to have a father again. Such situations are the most difficult for me and will remain in my memory.
After the camp is over, I will try to stay in touch with the other camp coordinators and the children via Viper.
What's most important for children always depends on the individual child.
For example in a camp with children from socially severely affected families the food was most important for the children. When we realized, how important the food was for them, we prepared Pelmeni, Varenyky* and potatoes with bacon. The children ate the food so fast that nobody could take it away from them again. Almost every one of them was hungry and many of them had sandals that were too small or damaged.
But in the camp, where I'm working now, the children are from happier families and it's more about offering them a change and a show. For me it is important in the first place to make children love God and find God for themselves. Hence, the children are given a foundation for their future, for example if their parents leave them. But God will never leave them.
It's important to me that the children see and understand how religion is used and that they get concrete examples of how religion shows up in everyday life. In addition, sports and art lessons are also important for the children, so they can distract themselves. We do not use balloons for sports, because children, who experienced shootings, can be very frightened if they burst. We also try not to bang the doors, because the sound could trigger associations with explosions and shots in the children's mind.
I have learned from the children that they are all different, and when I smile at a child and it smiles back, it's sometimes myself who needs that smile, not the child. This positive feedback makes you stronger.
I think the world should pay more attention to this region and in some villages in the Eastern Ukraine the children need much more affection and love than in other places in Ukraine. The people of the Eastern Ukraine are not different from other people, although some cases are a bit special. Some parents don't understand how hard their children are affected, and they don't know what they do to them when they leave. Then, these children look for affection somewhere else, for example on the road or with animals. These children would not be dependent on such an affection, if there was more help and support from volunteers.«

* Pelmeni, Varenyky: boiled, stuffed dumplings, popular food all over the former Sovjet Union

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