Ukraine Experience (part 1)

In my previous posts I promised that a review of my Eastern European exploits would be quickly forthcoming so I apologize for the tardiness of the first instalment. I have been waiting to post until I could utilize the thousands of photos taken by my companions on this adventure. While I will not have access to all of them until tomorrow night, I have been able to score a few pics that function as visual aids for my narrative.

Ukraine is a country of contradictions. It can be beautiful and charmingly European or depressingly Soviet. Its historical importance in belied by the near total lack of architectural aesthetics. World War II, known as the Great Patriotic War, treated Ukraine very harshly as both the Nazis and Russian Soviets showed little regard for the country's national treasures. Outside a formerly Jewish neighborhood in downtown Kiev (pronounced monosyllabic, more like Keev) I literally saw less than a few dozen structures that seemed to be pre-Soviet (ie. more than 100 years old). For a nation with quite a few cities that have been constantly inhabited since pre-Greek times, I was shocked at it's drabness and - for lack of a better word - Detroity-ness. Even Detroit's burned-out churches seem to have more history than the vast majority of Kiev. The two photo's shows this dichotomy. The above view from the Simferopol-Kiev train was breathtaking while the Kiev building below is the kids center (sort of a group home for kids whose parents can't afford to support them) from which a number of our campers came. Unfortunately, this particular facility is better than most as it is personally supported by the wife of President Viktor Yushchenko.

Due to my delay in posting, most of you have already heard my review of the 2 weeks in Ukraine. Still, I suppose I'll pretend that my entire readership isn't comprised of people I talk to everyday and give details about the trip itself and its purpose.

My organization owns a camp in Kerch, Ukraine and runs (among other things) 5 camps per summer for orphans and disadvantaged kids from all over the country. My travel team consisted of 5 people from Colorado Springs (Me, Paul, Kacie, Jeremy and Joanna) and Jessie, an intern from Chicago who will remain at the camp until October. The camp team also included another Jessica intern and 2 girls (Megan and Natasha) who stayed over from the previous camp. That gave us a total of 9 Americans to develop and run a 10 day camp for 100 kids. OK, that's not really how it happened...We have an incredible staff of Ukrainians - some paid and some volunteer - who make the camp run. Our responsibility was to handle the program (who does what and when) and present the Bible lessons, crafts and activities; all through interpreters.

I have been on quite a few trips to Latin America and this trip blew me away in several ways. First, I have never been on a team with the cohesion, camaraderie and respect for each other that this group displayed. This is really saying something as we were together non-stop for twice as long as any other team I have been on. From the newbie travelers to the seasoned veterans with experience in these exact camps, everyone was positive and displayed amazing endurance. I made some good friends with whom I hope to travel again.

Second, I have been on teams which concentrated on children before, but this is my first extensive experience with orphans. The change in attitudes as the camp progressed and the genuine sadness at the time of departure made for an emotional roller coaster from which I have yet to fully recover. I had my heart broken to an extent that I was not prepared to handle.

In the next week or so I am going to try to explain my experiences by way of individual children, but I am waiting until I have access to pictures of them.

Stay tuned.