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StevieC
24-10-2016, 04:11 PM
Here is a TV interview of a news interview of the helpers that recently brought 20 Ukrainian children over to Edinburgh. Hibernian, and the supporters, get a mention as the three talk about the generosity of the supporters with Dnipro Kids and for the warm welcome and hospitality shown by Hibernian FC when they arrived in Edinburgh.

It still sounds funny when you hear "Hibernian" said with a Russian/Ukrainian accent! :greengrin

I've provided the translation below ...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQu7UgxEzv0

Presenter: Ukraine defenders children went to visit Scotland. A story that is like fairy tale and we will tell you this story with our guests. Meet Svetlana Volovich - a volunteer, a member of the board of the charity “River of Life”, Iryna Klyus – a representative of the Dnipro Kids charity and Eugene Pereverziev – a volunteer who accompanied children to Scotland. Welcome!
How did the fairy tale begin?

Svitlana: This great story, this fairy tale, began more than half a year ago when we (River of Life) were offered to participate in the Children of War project as partners. At that time we had already had a number of meetings with families of those who died, or were injured, in ATO (Anti-Terrorist Operations). We started doing it first as volunteers, and then as charity River of Life. That’s why we already had our data base of such families. The Ministry of Social Policy had turned to the Consulate of Scotland with a suggestion that Scots would host a group of children from such families. We selected 7 participants of the project from our Dnipropetrovsk region, and there were 13 participants from other regions of Ukraine. Altogether 8 regions participated in this program, and 20 kids were able to visit Scotland thanks to the joint efforts from both Ukrainian and Scottish sides.

Presenter: Now maybe Iryna will tell us in more detailed how this trip started, what places were attended and how interesting it was for kids to visit a foreign country.

Iryna: Yes. First I would like to say that my organisation, which I am a member of, is the Dnipro Kids Charity. It’s a Scottish organisation started by supporters of Hibernian FC. It was this charity that they (Ukrainian Consulate) turned to for help to organise this project. Steven Carr who is a chairman of the charity answered the call and the process began. When he was here to visit in spring he had a meeting with the mothers of our children. He was able to talk about the project in more detail and answered questions from the mums
On September the 30th our fairy tale began. We departed from Kyiv, and when we arrived in London our Ukrainian ambassador met us there. It was a pleasure and an honour for us to have such a high public welcome, although the kids deserved it!

Presenter: Speaking about how Scottish side welcomed the kids. What was the response.

Eugene: It was very nice. From London we went to Edinburgh by bus, as soon as we arrived we went to the Hibernian stadium. They had organised breakfast there, and after we had a tour of the stadium. And the next day we all attended the championship match where Hibernian played against Dundee United. At the match we were able to see how the Dnipro Kids volunteer charity works. It was nice to see the supporters that help, standing there in Dnipro Kids t-shirts with collection buckets around stadium. This is agreed with Hibernian FC and everybody knows that the money collected will directly help our kids. It was very nice. And on the next day, when we went for a walk around Edinburgh a local newspaper was brought to Irina which had a photograph of children at the stadium, with our FC Dnipro flag. The article talked about the project for Ukrainian kids to visit Scotland. It was very nice.
Also when we travelled to the organised events people would show us newspapers, or screenshots, of the local press writing about Ukraine and about our kids. It’s important for us that the world knows about the problem that we have in Ukraine – this war. Over there they openly say that Ukraine fights against Russia. There is no propaganda about terrorist operation and so on. It’s important for our children and mothers that the tragedies that take place in their families are understood. They want to know that it is not just some financial recompense from the state, but that someone cares about them. And this trip is a testimony of that!
We brought back completely different children with different emotions, able to forget bad memories. It was a very important trip for them because for almost all the kids it was there first time abroad .. and unbelievable to get to visit Great Britain, one of the most socially developed countries in the world. We spoke with them on the way back home about how things work there, and such law-abiding citizens that are there , that they don’t litter and clean after their dogs and so on…

Presenter: In other words, the culture is different…

Eugene: Yes, and we talked about how we need to change things here. And we can’t wait till someone will do something .. we need to change ourselves, and to first of all change our mentality.

Presenter: And to bring up and teach our children because then they will become a proper educated citizen that proudly carries the name “Ukrainian citizen”.
So what feedback have you had from the kids? Kids are so adaptable! What impressed you adults the most?

Svitlana: What impressed me was that after we got back some of the kids said to their mums “Mum, 10 days of this trip was better than 2 years of English lessons”. The children were so integrated into the language environment (host families) that they could improve their English skills. They also learned so much about the culture from living with the host families. The host families looked after the kids so well! We probably didn’t even expect such a warm welcome from the Ukrainian community and Scottish people. Our kids were blown away with all the attention and gifts. During the 10 days EVERYTHING was about them! They were the centre of our attention at events and the centre of attention in the host families.

Presenter: What was the age of the Ukrainian children that visited Scotland.

Iryna: The age group was from 10 to 15 years old.

Presenter: So it was middle-school children, right? Those that had already study a second language at school.

Svitlana: Yes

Presenter: Did they make friends with other kids that speak the English language.

Iryna: Not all the families where our children stayed had kids, but it was obvious that our children made friends with both adults and kids in the families. They have developed very good relationships with families. Some of the host families even want to come and visit Ukraine now. There was a very emotional parting of the kids with their host families. We could tell that they had very good relationships, and it was a great experience for both the host families and for our children.

Presenter: Talking about gifts and souvenirs from Ukraine to Scotland. What did you take? And maybe we should ask about the next step, where will the next group of children go to? Do you have such plans?

Eugene: When we were getting ready for the trip we told the parents and children that they were going to stay with families, so maybe prepare some Ukrainian gifts. The kids were not empty handed when they arrived .. but we had a little problem .. there were so many gifts coming back that the kids had excess baggage!

Presenter: What was customs reaction?

Eugene: We had to re-organise children’s suitcases, but everything worked out fine. I would like to add information about the host families. These were not just random families. In order to take Ukrainian kids they had to go through very serious checks by the Scottish authorities. They checked their background, their financial situation and their living conditions. So you will understand that these people that were ready to take children from Ukraine were very open people with open hearts. We worried a little bit, but it was clear from the very first day the kids met their host families they would make good friends. The whole atmosphere was very warm, friendly and welcoming.

Presenter: Where can Ukrainian children go in the future? Do you have any thoughts or plans?

Svitlana: There are some plans, but after all they are still probably aligned with Scotland. We would like to continue this project here in Ukraine. Now our goal is to introduce the moms to each other better. And the children would like continue their fellowship with each other. This group – we became good friends! We miss the kids.

Presenter: and the kids are from 8 regions of Ukraine!

Svitlana: Yes. At the moment we have an idea, supported by our Scottish friends, to gather together all the families to discuss the trip right here in Dnipro. This is our immediate plan, but as for the future .. we’ll have to see. For us it was our first experience of such a project. All three of us met only during this project, and I think we can be proud with what we achieved. So lets see what happens.

Presenter: Speaking about Scots and Ukrainians, how much do we resemble one another?

Iryna: I think that we are very similar. Steven Carr always says that he can really relate to Ukrainians because we are very alike in our mentality. I have seen that we are just as open, hospitable and sincere as Scottish people, so I think that we really have a lot in common!

DaveF
24-10-2016, 04:24 PM
Top stuff as usual.

lucky
24-10-2016, 04:27 PM
Excellent Stevie, delighted the kids had a great time.

beensaidbefore
24-10-2016, 05:03 PM
Great read. Nice to hear a reaction from the other side rather than our own media.

StevieC
24-10-2016, 05:05 PM
Top stuff as usual.

Thanks. Appreciate the support. :aok:


Excellent Stevie, delighted the kids had a great time.

They really did mate. A lot more than can really be described in any update or TV clip. If you can imagine many of the kids were coming from former soviet style cities for the first time ever .. and to somewhere as stunning and architecturally diverse as Edinburgh, in one of the most beautiful and scenic countries in the world .. every day was a "WOW!" day for them!

There is another news clip of some of the kids arriving back in Dnipro (with huge hugs from their mums) and you can see how excited they all were and so desperate to tell everyone they could about the trip.


https://youtu.be/LlqYkCyiSNw

Viva_Palmeiras
24-10-2016, 05:23 PM
Wonderful to hear how donations are directly benefiting the kids. Great work to all.

Pretty Boy
24-10-2016, 05:46 PM
Great read, all those involved should be very proud of what Dnipro Kids has achieved and continues to achieve. It really is amazing to think that a random football draw a decade ago has changed so many childrens lives for the better.

Seveno
24-10-2016, 06:00 PM
What an uplifting read. Well done, Stevie, to you and all your team for your hard work and keeping this charity alive.

lord bunberry
24-10-2016, 06:03 PM
Fantastic stuff and well done to everyone involved.

Jonnyboy
24-10-2016, 06:39 PM
All power to you and your fantastic Dnipro Committee, Stevie

Swedish hibee
24-10-2016, 06:41 PM
Well done all involved 👍

givescotlandfreedom
24-10-2016, 08:05 PM
Brilliant story. Thanks to all those involved for doing their club and country proud.

Hibs Class
24-10-2016, 08:07 PM
Excellent story :thumbsup:

Stax
24-10-2016, 08:52 PM
Great work & cracking article :thumbsup:

therealgavmac
24-10-2016, 09:58 PM
Thanks. Appreciate the support. :aok:



They really did mate. A lot more than can really be described in any update or TV clip. If you can imagine many of the kids were coming from former soviet style cities for the first time ever .. and to somewhere as stunning and architecturally diverse as Edinburgh, in one of the most beautiful and scenic countries in the world .. every day was a "WOW!" day for them!

There is another news clip of some of the kids arriving back in Dnipro (with huge hugs from their mums) and you can see how excited they all were and so desperate to tell everyone they could about the trip.


https://youtu.be/LlqYkCyiSNw

Couldn't understand a word of that obviously, but smiled from start to finish watching it. It's good for the heart and soul seeing what everybody involved with this has achieved. Everybody in the Hibernian family are proud of you!

Itsnoteasy
25-10-2016, 11:40 PM
Hats of to all who made this possible. I was in Dnipro for the match & my lasting memory was being in the airport returning home. The airport was miles from any where & there was this group of young kids, I wouldn't say begging but asking us if there was anything we could give them. I just wonder how they managed to get there. It made me realise just how lucky we are in Scotland. Once again well done Stevie & all the host families, these memories will last these kids a lifetime.

StevieC
26-10-2016, 05:06 PM
Thanks for the kind words, and the continued support. Great team effort.

HibbyDave
26-10-2016, 05:17 PM
Well done to everyone involved with Dnipro Kids!!!

CockneyRebel
26-10-2016, 05:40 PM
Just......Barry. It's a real tonic seeing kids with smiley faces.

Keith_M
26-10-2016, 05:45 PM
I sent the link to a Ukrainian colleague and she was really impressed.



:thumbsup: