Peace Wanted Just to be Free

At the time of writing this I am at our Peace Camp called White Sail, designed and funded by This Child Here for families who have been displaced or in a significant way affected by the war.

Meet Yuri, Olya and their nine year old son,Vladik. Yuri was educated and trained as an electrical engineer, and in the years prior to 2014, worked at a milk producing plant in eastern Ukraine, in the region of the town of Marienka.

Below, Yuri and Vladik take one of the workshops we offer. Olya dances in a class where they wear dresses in the colors of the Ukrainian flag: yellow and blue.

When the war came in 2014, the factory closed. Yuri lost his job as an electrical engineer and received a new job as a security guard standing watch over those same buildings, now empty. Olya is a social worker, visiting and supporting families in that region.

It's only one story, but most times it is the same story with different names and professions and places of residence. I was an engineer, I was a lawyer, I was a teacher in a university. I was a bookkeeper. I was in business. I had an apartment. I had an office. War came. I lost my home, my job, my place of work, my profession. These are IDP's, Internally, Displaced, Persons.

White Sail, our Peace Camp is an opportunity for them to spend a week by the sea with other families who have been displaced by the war and continue to live in the east, near land occupied by Russian forces and influence. These families do not have the financial resources to live comfortably in Odessa, Kiev, Liviv or any large city of their choosing. White Sail is designed to give each family time together as a family and time to find strength and support from others.