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School in Exile
Some friends I met recently here in Poland invited me to accompany them this morning on a visit to a new private primary school in Warsaw. The school, called the Children of Ukraine Education Center, was founded by two Ukrainian women who brought their children to Warsaw when Russia invaded Ukraine. One of the women,…
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Parting Impressions
Today was the last day of my first “tour” as a volunteer at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland; it was also the first day that we played musical chairs with the kids! Most days there are so many kids at so many different…
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Save the Children
Tomorrow will be my last day of volunteering at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland, at least for the rest of October. The Polish Red Cross had initially announced that it intended to close the Aid Center at the end of October, so Ocalenie…
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Super-Active
Today was my thirty-second day as a volunteer at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Reception Point / Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland. We only had about 18 kids register in during the course of the entire day, and it would have been a very quiet time except for…
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One-Stringer
Today we were pretty busy at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Reception Point / Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland. We had about 25 kids signed in and some of them were pretty rambunctious. I guess they were “farm kids” because the boys had grime under their fingernails, and…
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Don’t Fret
The guitar is one of the most popular “toys” at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Reception Point / Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland. Even though our guitar only has two strings still intact, kids love to carry it around the safe space, strumming rythmically. I’ve figured out how…
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Putin Escalates
Last night we learned that Russian President Vladmir Putin issued a new decree that will mobilize some 300,000 Russian reservists and men with previous military experience, likely signaling an escalation of the war in Ukraine. Although not unexpected, this news is concerning for we volunteers at the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the…
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Jenga Folly
Jenga is game of hand-eye coordination skill played with 54 wooden blocks. Players take turns removing one block at a time from a tower constructed of all 54 blocks. Each block removed is then placed on top of the tower, creating a progressively taller and more unstable structure. The game ends when any part of…
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A Real Pick-Me-Up
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?…
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Travel Dress
We are “seeing” quite a diversity of ethnicities pass through the Ocalenie Foundation safe space for children in the Ukrainian Refugee Reception Point / Humanitarian Aid Center in Przemyśl, Poland. I say “seeing” because we don’t speak the language of the people, so all we know is what we “see” from superficial outward appearance. We…
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