This year Help Us Help’s 16th Annual Winter Camp “Christmas Spirit in the Carpathians” took place from January 2 to 11th, 2020 in Vorokhta, Ivano-Frankivsk region, in Western Ukraine.
Help Us Help welcomed 92 orphaned and underprivileged children from four corners of Ukraine. 81 children came from 16 orphanages and 11 were children of ATO soldiers and veterans. Amongst our volunteers were 8 current and 5 past scholarship students! These students, who had once participated as children at our camps, learned the value of giving back by volunteering as camp counsellors and workshop leaders. They, along with our other staff and volunteers, provided a safe learning environment and a magical atmosphere for all the children.
Thanks to your tremendous generosity, many of our campers experienced the following activities and traditions for the very first time: Ukrainian Christmas, carolling, skiing and snowboarding at the Bukovel Ski Resort, Malanka, and a variety of traditional workshops!
Keep reading to learn how YOUR SUPPORT influenced
the lives of children at Winter Camp 2020!
On their first day at camp, the children were taken through a gymnasium filled with clothing and item donations, the majority of which were collected in North America. They received much needed day-to-day clothing, hygiene packs, and winter apparel. The rest of the day was spent getting medical check-ups, settling into their rooms and playing in the snow. Ruslana, founder of Help Us Help, then provided a warm welcome to the children at the camp’s first evening program!