Today we volunteers enjoyed another fairly peaceful time at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Reception Point / Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland. We had only about 16 kids register into the safe space over the course of the day, and they were remarkable kids.
What was remarkable about them? Well, they actually picked up after themselves! When they finished playing with a game or a toy, they would pick up the pieces, put them back in the box and put the box back on the shelf. In the three weeks I’ve been working in the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children, this is the first time I’ve seen kids proactively pick up after themselves. I have been practicing some Ukrainian, and one of the first phrases I learned was, “Let’s tidy up!” And I often chant that phrase when I’m picking up after playing a game with kids, to see if they will follow along. Sometimes they do. For instance, yesterday the kids moved a whole mountain of floor mats, bean bags, stools and other stuff from one side of the space to the other side, where they usually ride bicycles. They were building a castle over there. Later, they got tired of playing in the castle and some of them wanted to ride bicycles again, so I mobilized everyone to help carry stuff back to the other side of the space, to clear out the area for bicycle riding. Several of the kids caught right on and really helped a lot, but a couple of them simply refused to help. I shooed them out into the hallway so they wouldn’t cause too much mischief while we were cleaning up, and they just stood out there and watched us clean up. I guess that’s the difference between kids who have been brought up well and those who have been neglected. But the kids today were the best — I didn’t even have to ask them to help, they just picked up by themselves. Clearly, their parents are bringing these kids up to really understand what it means to be polite, well mannered and considerate of others.