“I can camp in peace without explosions due to Polish scouts”

“I want to thank Polish scouts, who hosted us. Finally, I could camp in peace without explosions”: winter camps in Poland

After Russia’s full-scale invasion, Ukrainian children lost their normal childhood and have been under constant stress ever since.

Attending camps is one of the most important tasks today. After all, at the camp, children can continue developing and take a break from the sounds of sirens and explosions.

During the winter months in 2023 and 2024 more than 4000 Plast members attended camps in Poland. For this, we are grateful to Polish scouts from ZHP, Plast members from Poland, Ukrainian diaspora and foreign organizations. Special thanks to Artur Pałucki, who made all of this possible!

In particular, 6 camps were held during winter of 2024. All the transportation costs were covered by Plast in the USA.

Plast members at camps in Poland engaged in various recreational activities, such as snowball fights and DIY workshops. These activities provided them with moments of joy, allowing them to just be kids and enjoy themselves.

That is what some of the camp leaders are saying about camps:

“According to the legend, together with the children, we tried to help the girl Sofiia make friends with difficult emotions, such as fear, anger, sadness, guilt, and get the keys of strength to find joy every time 🥰”, — Svitlana Zub.

“The children are happy – most of them climbed a mountain in winter for the first time”, — Serhii Lekhan.