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Back to the origins: Svetlana’s story

Un nostro volontario che racconta la storia di una nostra volontaria. Questo e altro ai confini dell’Europa, fino a dove arriva Scambieuropei. So’ soddisfazioni!

 

Svetlana’s story could be considered the most original among this new group of volunteers. And her name itself is the first step towards investigation.

Born in Ukraine 22 years ago but then moved at the age of 5 to Italy, this young girl is nowadays searching to establish a contact within her true Slavic origins. Every moment here in Sumy is an epiphany – to recall Joyce’s most famous image – that drives her memories back to the past (the orphanage in which she ended up in the early childhood for a shortage of care from her parents, her brother’s glance already missed several years ago but still kept in mind as a weapon to preserve something that could be still alive…).

Taking care about children – especially those who have not been so fortunate either because of health or family issues – is one of Svetlana’s main purposes at this moment, what she also dreams to be done in the next future. And university studies are leading her person in that direction so far.

She is trying to discover new pedagogical assessments by herself in the hospital where most of the weekends are spent up with the purpose of alleviating clinical treatments’ harshness to local youth, by improving some games and activities to make them more comfortable throughout the whole period of recovery. She is also willing to create kind of “satellite-families” to assist children after the departure from the orphanages, as most of them will not have someone to be cared of.

Implementing academic conventions about social service in Italy – thus making comparisons to the current situation of welfare state in Ukraine – is another battle for this self-determined girl, very fond of studying international laws regarding family issues within a world-wide perspective.

And this determination will be an unexpected gift for the local community, glad to see a compatriot truly engaged to preserve childhood from its natural rights.

Riccardo Bravi

Originariamente pubblicato sul sito del nostro partner ucraino “CEI” (Center of European Integration” )