“Act and Change” Was a Boost

When child-friendly spaces were founded in Nadvirna, Burshtyn, Lukavtsi, Kolomyya, and Vorokhta, they were aimed at creating alternative spaces for education as well as at creating safe spaces for children to spend time with benefit. Spaces to study, play, and meet friends.

These spaces have become places of strength that gather active people around them, from the smallest to the eldest. There children and youth can learn how to implement their ideas and get that precious experience they can obtain only when people come together for an idea and work together. And in the end, you see it’s worth it. 

The youth initiatives workshop “Act and Change” was founded by STAN NGO in partnership and with the financial support of the Czech humanitarian organization People in Need Ukraine. The program started with trainings that lasted for several days, where young people got the necessary tools and knowledge to implement their ideas. Then every community got a mentor and small financial support. This text tells about what came out of it.  

“Awesome zarinok”

Zarinok means a plain cozy space with green grass next to a river. There is such a place in the village of Lukavsti in Chernivtsi Oblast, on the Syret river bank. The local community likes it because it is easily accessible either by foot or by car. People come there to rest, bathe in the river and for barbecues. 

Lukavtsi child-friendly space is located nearby, and facilitators often visit zarinok with children. There is an “active day” two times a week in this child-friendly space. This means going out for trips, walks, playing games and doing sport, or simply sitting by the fire. In a word, people like this spot. And they wanted to have not just a zarinok but an “awesome zarinok”, with a beach volleyball ground.

The youth initiatives workshop “Act and Change” was a boost for the local community to create such a place. Local activists decided a recreational zone by the river would be the project they would implement in the framework of the program. 

The grant from STAN NGO and partners was small, 6800 UAH. But this money was enough to start. “We created a list of what we need. We couldn’t do a lot with that money but it was a boost. After that, we could engage local businesses. For a start, we ordered things we would need, and so we could show we’d already had a volleyball net and balls, so that they could help with other things”, says Liudmyla Vizer, an “Awesome zarinok” co-coordinator.

Then they had to roll up their sleeves and work. The whole community together. They started with cutting the grass. “I did not expect children would respond. They were coming to the spot and gathered that grass, carrying it away. Everyone wanted to help in some way, because we all knew we were going to create something awesome”, says Liudmyla. 

They made rubbish boxes and a diving board to jump into the water. They also made street furniture from wooden pallets and painted it, mounted horizontal bars, and bars for a volleyball net. Kateryna Stazhyr and her NGO “Active Community” helped with metal tubes. 

The most interesting thing started when sand for the volleyball ground was delivered. It was needed since the idea was a beach volleyball ground. People mostly come to the river in flip flops, not in sneakers, so they play volleyball barefoot. To protect feet from thorns the playground was covered with sand. But it turned out the sand was not sifted. 

“We worked there with garden rakes for the whole day, cleaning the sand, picking and collecting small stones from it. I was very pleased that many children came to help us. We had a goal to bring people together, and it worked out. No one refused our requests. We went to a bakery, asked for 20 loaves of bread for a holiday. No problem. We engaged two bakeries, 20 loaves of bread from each”, says Liudmyla. 

“We ran out of cement – and businesses that sell such products provided it. Every entrepreneur was ready to help. We needed holi paints for a festival – and entrepreneurs bought 50 bags for us. It showed people were ready to engage. If there is an interesting event in the village, they join in”, says Petro Oleksiuk, co-coordinator of the initiative.

The opening of the Awesome zarinok was scheduled for August, 9th. Liudmyla expected 50 people, while Petro was more optimistic. He expected one hundred. Three hundred people showed up. They were not only from Lukavtsi village, they came from all villages in Berehomet hromada. There were children and adults. Local authorities also showed up. They even played volleyball, faced Lukavtsi children’s team, and lost. 

“From this project, I understood it is possible to find financing here or there. However, manpower cannot be replaced by anything. Nothing would work if those people wouldn’t help. If Ms. Liuba with her daughter was not cooking banosh during the whole day, it wouldn’t work out. Everyone contributed to a common cause. And it made the festival so great, that even us organizers were surprised at how awesome it was”, says Petro Oleksiuk. 

“There was a competitive spirit, but it was friendly at the same time”

Volleyball was also played In Vorokhta, not by the river, but in a gym of a local school. Organizers wanted to attract attention to the topic of gender equality.  And of course, it was for the sake of sport, enjoyment and communication. The tournament was called “Gender Roles on the Field”. 

“We’ve decided to connect the topic of gender equality with the sports tournament. That means we didn’t have male or female teams”, says Ihor Menshakov, the project’s co-coordinator. 

The organization process was ambitious. The referee was a professional – a volleyball trainer Mykhailo Obidniak. Participants received medals, and there was a buffet with fruits and sweets. 

Four teams participated in a tournament. Mostly there were youths from Vorokhta, but there were people of diverse ages and backgrounds. One of them is Dmytro Turbin. He comes from Mariupol, now lives in Ivano-Frankivsk, and came to Vorokhta for a tournament. 

“I liked an opportunity to relax and have some rest. I visited a new city, met a youth from Vorokhta. There were different people. We did not play as established teams but were divided into teams randomly. There was some competitive spirit, but there was a friendly atmosphere too. No one argued or expressed any dissatisfaction”, says Dmytro. 

The tournament was important not only for participants but also for organizers. According to Ihor Menshakov, for many of them it was a first step in social activism. They have got experience now. Moreover, they worked together and most likely will be doing something for their community in the future. 

“We were also thinking about organizing an eco festival and a fair, inviting craftsmen. The money we could make from this event would be used to buy planting stock. We could plant trees where they have been cut down earlier. Such an initiative would influence people’s minds and their environmental awareness. Maybe we will implement this idea in the future”, says Ihor. 

At the end about the start 

Not by volleyball alone. In Kolomyya, in the framework of the “Act and Change” youth initiatives workshop a creative evening for the youth was organized. In Burshtyn – a Ukrainian ethno-style party, in Nadvirna – an environmental awareness festival. All these events represent changes that can be seen and photographed. After all, balls and nets will remain in the villages. And what’s more important is changes in people’s thinking, in how we see challenges and how we can deal with them. 

And there’s more. Every such initiative can be the start of something new. A start of a project or an initiative we could see in half a year, in a year, or three years. Every second step needs a first one. And every 100th step needs a 99th one. So, when one makes a step, from the right or left leg, it might be much more than a step. It may be the start of a journey for a thousand miles. Or dozens or years.