When we learned volunteers were organizing a trip to Poland for the children of killed or wounded ATO heroes and they really needed spending money, we immediately realized we had to help, but time was critically short. When we began preparing the project we were worried we would not have time. But often when doing something important problems are solved unexpectedly quickly. At the eleventh hour, we were able to find a caring sponsor who decided to help and gave us 32 545 UAH (1,300 euros) to give to the organizers of the trip for distribution among the children. The money is needed for day-to-day incidental expenses, because when traveling with children you should be prepared for surprises, and the volunteers wanted the children to the opportunity to buy souvenirs in memory of Poland, food and drink and pay for any excursions along the way.
Now, the children have returned home, and organizers have shared their travel experiences. The trip was very diverse and interesting. The children behaved very well and volunteers accompanying them were left happy.
During the trip the group visited the Embassy of Ukraine and met with all there, including Ukrainian diplomat Andriy Deshchytsia and advisers. The reception was warm, as evidenced by numerous photos. Among the highlights for the children was ATV riding, attending master classes, seeing the sights and attractions, and a visit to a water park.
The money provided by the sponsor was spent on medicine in case of an emergency on the road,food and drink, swimsuits and swimming trunks for those that did not have them and shoes for the water park. Of course, the trip was not without ice cream and other sweets – children are children.
The remaining funds were given to children on the last day for shopping – 50 euros and 8 set aside specifically for souvenirs (funds were distributed to 26 children from the 30 as four children from Chernihiv had funds given to them that were raised in their city). The girls shopped mainly for clothes, the younger boys splashed out on Lego sets while the older bought headphones and other essential boys’ toys. The sheer volume of purchases meant organizers physically could not photograph them, but the children pledged to send photo reports later. The mission of the trip was to make sure the children felt cared about and to remember the heroism of their fathers. The mission was a success!
