Sunflower Camp

Sunflower Camp for Ukrainian Children

Sunflower Camp was created to give Ukrainian refugee children living in Warsaw a safe, joyful summer experience and a supportive community. During one season, the program welcomed 144 children who had experienced the trauma and displacement of war.

The camp has been hosted in the heart of Warsaw, at the Bednarska Szkola Realna, a private school which generously donated the use of its space. The school is easily accessed by public transportation. It is located on a lovely quiet side street, situated among the trees, close to the Botanical Gardens and next to the Royal Lazienki Krolewskie Park, Vistula River and the Japanese, Spanish, and South Korean Embassies.

The school offered classrooms for children to play in, a well-equipped gymnasium, a cinema room, and a large outdoor area for sports activities. The entire school grounds are surrounded by a fence and locked gates which are monitored by school personnel.  A kitchen and canteen provided hot healthy lunches and afternoon snacks for the children and staff. Catering was provided by a company that knows the school and provides food there during the year. The cleaning service was also provided by a company familiar with the school. Although the school space was donated, the program covered its catering and cleaning services.

The program was organized in two-week sessions for children ages 6–15. While the children participated in camp, their mothers had time to work, look for employment, attend professional training, and study Polish or English.

The program included a variety of activities, appropriate to the different age levels. Our interest is to provide a balance of activities, workshops, field trips and playful learning that builds self-esteem, tickles curiosity, allows for problem solving and hands on creativity and fosters a sense of adventure to see and experience new things and nature while in a safe environment, under the watchful eyes of experienced caring teachers. The camp encouraged supportive relationships with other Ukrainian children and teachers thereby offering a sense of community, which is not easily available, as these children are living throughout the city and not necessarily in touch with other Ukrainian children. Its goal was to build confidence and resilience while giving children the freedom to be carefree and have fun.

Activities and excursions included fun and games, yoga with Ilona, a favorite teacher, dance parties, outings to the Royal Lazienki Park and sculpture garden, nature workshop in the Botanical Garden, Copernicus Science Center, Museum of Illusion, Planetarium, Alpaca Ranch, art and film workshops, tour of Old Town Warsaw, and a meeting with an animal behaviorist and her dogs. Not to mention a special ice cream excursion!

For the program, we partnered with TPD – Towarzystwo Przyjaciol Dzieci (Children’s Friends Society) https://tpd-maz.org.pl/o-nas/ , the oldest NGO in Poland, founded over 100 years ago, after WWI, to help war orphans. Their guiding principles include equal opportunities for all children in access to education, health care, cultural goods, technological achievements, development of the child’s life prospects; fair, equal treatment and respect for the subjectivity and dignity of the child; tolerance and respect for other people, their work and views; integration, solidarity and protection of the rights of victims; humanitarian aid, charity, mutual aid, social work and volunteering.

As required by Polish law, the camp was fully certified, and all teachers completed special training organized by the Polish Board of Education. Teachers and administrators were certified pedagogical professionals which allows them to work with children and all completed first-aid training. The professional teaching staff included refugee women from Ukraine who are alone with their children in Poland. Despite their great fear for the fate of their husbands and all their loved ones who stayed in Ukraine, they gained further professional experience while also working in schools. The staff included Ukrainians from Mariupol, Kiev, Enerdogan, Chernihiv and Lviv.

All organizers, caregivers, teachers, and children were insured with personal accident insurance. In addition, the program carried insurance for accidental damage to property. During field trips, the children had wrist bands with identification and contact information, identifying scarves, as well as backpacks with items that might be needed.

The program also provided a psychologist from Ukraine who specialized in working with children traumatized by war and was available to help their mothers as well. Ukrainian soldiers and grandparents told us that the camp was one of the greatest gifts they could receive, as they know that their children are safe and are able to experience the joys of childhood.

We are accepting donations to support this camp at UkrainianChildren.org

Please indicate funds are to go to Wasserson Projects.

Ukrainian Children Inc. is a 501 (c) 3 non-profit.

EIN# 88-1627269

1315 S Main St

Winston Salem NC 27127

Listed with GuideStar, Ukrainian Children, Inc. does not pay salaries or office rentals. Everyone works on a volunteer basis, with no official office. 100% of donations go to the Ukrainians.

Wire Transfers:

Email wire_transfers@UkrainianChildren.org

Include your name/organization, phone number and donation amount and someone from our team will get back to you with details.

Check:

Write check to: “Ukrainian Children, Inc.”

Mail:

Ukrainian Children, Inc.
Attn: Joel Schneider
1315 S Main St
Winston Salem, NC 27127

Please include a note specifying Wasserson Projects

PayPal or Credit Card are also accepted through the website