Camp Blog – Day 3

Tabir Blog – Day 3

5 August 2015

Petro Chymera (Youth leader)

It was an early start to the day for me as I had the last night watch between 4 and 7am. After a short spell preparing today’s lessons it quickly turned into a quiet watch with the rustling of the trees and the occasional roar of a plane from East Midlands airport being the only audible noises. This was until there was a late attack from the Drevliany (a tribe living in Ukraine in the 9th century).  However, employing the methods of the noble Princess Olga of Kyivan Rus, I was able to fend off the attack single-handed. This may have happened or I may have just been reading The Tale of Bygone Years ( the Rus Primary Chronicle) to pass the time! Eventually Komendant appeared and relieved us of our duties.

It was then onto the day’s first hutirka (lesson), a joint class with Stepan Pasicznyk (of Ukrainians fame) about the shistdesiatnyky (Ukrainian dissident movement of the 1960s) and also a part of Vasyl Symonenko’s poem “Ty zaniesh shcho ty liudyna” (Do you realise your humanity) – a poem to inspire the children to understand their  uniqueness and make the most of the opportunities that come to them.

Onto the day’s next lesson, an English language class with the children from Ukraine. In 2014 I had a spell at the CYM language camp in Lviv as well as three months working on Language Experience also in Lviv. I was able to build on this experience to deliver a class focussed on vocabulary and look forward to more classes over the next few days.

For the final class of the day, we discussed the children’s forthcoming trip to Parliament – including a passionate and often heated debate comparing the UK Parliament with Ukraine’s Verkhovna Rada

After lunch, I finally had some time to catch up on some sleep before our second “Ukrainian speaking club” –  an attempt to improve my grammar, which, to be frank, is not at a high enough standard for an aspiring Kozak!

Anna Stasiuk (Zaporizha) 

A wonderful day! We had a shooting lesson, singing and played boules. Camp is generally very organised. It’s educational and recreational for children and adults alike. Every day starts with rukhanka (morning exercise), prayers and breakfast. We then have activities and various lessons, along with free time. We play ball games, or just socialise with a cup of tea. In the evening we all do different things: badminton, table tennis, pool. We can also learn and play different instruments. I’m impressed by just how unique this summer camp is!