The Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky All-Canadian Training Camp “Warriors of Truth” was held from June 30 to July 13 at CYM camp Veselka near Acton, Ontario. 45 participants from the Montreal, Etobicoke, Mississauga, St. Catharines, Calgary, Edmonton and recently renewed London chapters – took part. The name of the camp, “Warriors of Truth,” echoes this year’s slogan of CYM: “Evil will perish and truth will prevail,” a passage from a poem by Lina Kostenko. During the camp, we talked a lot about how each of us is called to be a warrior for the Truth, and we believe that in time God’s Truth will prevail, the war will end, and Ukraine will become a completely free and territorially united state.

The camp team included: Natalia Schturyn, commandant, Tanya Choly, program director, Irka Shust Dankowycz, pyaar and camp coordinator , Larysa Luszczki, bunczuzhna, Michael Zelyk, Melania Schturyn, and Lesyk Choly, obozni. Harry Nesmasznyj, Hanya Ostapiuk, and Zoriana Kilyk travelled to the camp, as did many speakers and special guests. Special thanks to Fathers Mykhailo Wynnycky and Roman Dusanowsky for celebrating the Holy Liturgies and giving thoughtful and future-oriented sermons.

The camp program was rich and varied. There were talks, group activities related to historical anniversaries, outdoor activities, singing, sports, swimming, dancing, walking and a demonstration.

During the hutirky, young people learned what they needed to know to become full-fledged CYMivci. The topics of the talks and classes were Theology, Modern Ukraine, CYMoznavstvo, Leadership, and Methodology.

On Theology, there were talks on the following topics: What it means to be a saint, how the Liturgical Year is structured, how to live a moral life/10 commandments of God, and others. On the topic of CYMoznavstsvo, there were talks about the “CYM members on the shield” (who died in battle), which was to be delivered remotely by Natalia Tereshchenko from Lviv, but due to lack of electricity, she passed along a presentation about preparations for the celebration of the 100th anniversary of CYM, about the Personality of a CYM member (what should a CYM member be like?), and about the structure of CYM and the scheme of banners and insignia. On Contemporary Ukraine, we heard about Russia’s genocide against Ukraine, had a discussion with the Consul of Ukraine in Toronto, Oleh Nikolenko, about combating Russian propaganda, and were in touch with Myroslava Kharchenko from Kyiv who spoke about the theft of Ukrainian children by the russian occupiers. To develop the leadership skills of our students, there were classes on how to organize themselves and conduct group projects, work in the community outside of CYM, such as in SUSK, and how to study in an orderly manner. As for the Methodology, there were talks and classes on Child Development, Lesson Planning, How to Maintain Discipline During Classes, and How to Work with Children with Special Needs. And much, much more.

The students also worked in groups and prepared presentations on historical topics: 80 years since the death of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, 210 years since the birth of Taras Shevchenko and his relevance today, 120 years since the birth of the founder of the CYM Mykola Pavlushkov, 10 years of the Revolution of Dignity and the Maidan, 20 years of the Orange Revolution and an overview of the development of democracy in Ukraine, the 70th anniversary of the Kingiry Concentration Camp Uprising, the 95th anniversary of the birth of the artist Alla Horska, and the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Brody and how to defend the truth about the Galicia Division in today’s world.

During the camp, there were two field trips – one to a soccer game in Hamilton for International Night, where campers wearing CYM T-shirts participated in the official opening and held Ukrainian flags at the stadium. Also during the camp, the Ohmadyt children’s hospital in Kyiv was shelled. We prepared posters and went to join the demonstration organized by the local branch of the UCC in front of the russian consulate in Toronto.

The training camp is designed for 3 years. Usually there are a lot of 1st year campers, fewer 2nd year campers and very few 3rd year campers. This year we had a lot of 2nd and 3rd year campers, so the program was geared more towards them. In addition to more advanced topics, our senior campers worked in various groups representing – ‘Kulturnyky’ whose task it was to organize a Chervona Ruta Festival and the celebration of John the Baptist – Ivana Kupala; the ‘Mizhnarodnyky’ researched and presented our guest speakers; the ‘Ratnyky’ organized a soccer tournament and Olympic games, and the ‘Suspilnyky’ prepared a commemoration of the fallen CYMivci in the war agains russia and banners for the demonstration in Toronto organized as a result of the bombing of the Kyiv hospital Ohmadyt.

Participants also took a first aid course conducted by instructors from the Canadian Red Cross.

In addition to educational classes, there were nature studies, games, swimming, sports, dancing, singing, and fun. The final presentations and the final exam concluded the training camp. The camp participants said goodbye to their new friends and went back to their branches to continue their work, either at the remaining summer camps or at their branches.

The Honour of Ukraine – Ready to Defend!

Tanya Choly – head counsellor

Additional fotos can be found here: Vyshkil wk 1 і Vyshkil wk 2.

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