Спілка жінок Херсонщини

16 December 2019, Kherson Women Union has held a day of fulfilling the dreams for the pupils of Kalynivka Special Boarding School. To say the least, that's what the union members thought...

That day, activists, volunteers and partners of Kherson Women Union went to present the children the things they were dreaming about. It would be understatement to say that the school hall of Kalynivka Special Boarding School has nearly burst of positive emotions on that day.

The children “squealed” with pleasure when the donors, holding a box, said their name. Some children were so excited that even forgot about their wishes to St. Nicholas. When they unpacked the box, they blurted out: “How did he know?”

These moments of joy, true wonder, and gratitude to the people inspire the volunteers and partners of the Union every year. That day was not an exception.

However, some children from senior classes were still restrained. Perhaps, that came from the recognition that that was not a fairy tale, that miracles are created by real people. That was a little said, so we wanted to communicate with those children, to give them something more than just gifts, because “I am Saint Nicholas!” project is not about candies, ice cream, gifts – it’s about our dialogue with children from institutional care establishments, it’s a kind of a bridge of trust between us and them. After all, it’s a communicative platform where we try to strengthen the belief of these children in themselves, to reveal their “I”.

What do we have today?

Traditionally, the gifts were collected through social networks, where each Khersonian could choose a dream and fulfill it. Everything is voluntary, transparently and in person. After learning about the dreams of children from their letters to Saint Nicholas, the managers of the Union have gathered all the wishes in a uniform electronic database, made it public and accompanied the donors to the very gift packing.

Which dream came true first? It was a suitcase for concert gowns! The donor Innesa Sambros brought a purple suitcase for the future actress the day after the dream table was made public. That dream resonated with her!

Over the first week, the donors have snapped up more than 50 of the 146 dreams that were originally made public. Time passed by, dreams faded ... And appetites grew ...

With increasing frequency, the pupils of Kalynivka Special Boarding School left comments on the web-page of Kherson Women Union, wishing to change their dream to ... a gadget.

In other words, when the children wrote their letters, they dreamed of something from the heart, and then, after thinking, they decided that they needed a gadget, and of the latest model, for sure. There were those who from the very start dreamed of gadgets, and some of them were really fortunate - the donor was found. However, not all of them were lucky…

Probably, the children at that moment did not distinguish the dream from forbearance, and those children came down. We, in turn, now have our own information case on how to avoid consumption.

Thank you, dear donors, caring Khersonians, volunteers, conscious business representatives! No child has been left without a giver! On the eve of delivery, thanks to your personal involvement, we have fulfilled four big dreams: clothes and shoes for adolescents.

Although this situation has bitter taste, we will think over the next format of “I am Saint Nicholas!” project. In spite of everything, there were moments that made us loose our breath.

A child deprived of parental warmth dreams of exercise books, pens and a thick notebook to study and find job; another pupil of this educational facility dreams about a professional manicure set, and an young girl from a senior class – about a food processor to learn to be good in cooking. Such children really need this project, because they have understood it!

This year was crucial: we once again assured ourselves of the effectiveness of Kherson community, found new friends and verified the loyalty of the old friends of the Union, and most of all - realized that the work on consolidating the family values ​​of children from institutional care establishments should be done tripartite, where community, teachers (mentors), children and we are all looking in one direction and working on the socialization of children that they definitely need.

Besides, we managed to “charge” other people with this project. For example, Kherson Office of the National Police in Kherson Oblast was inspired by our algorithm of embodying the dreams of children deprived of parental warmth, and already they, as assistants of St. Nicholas, go to family type orphanages of the oblast to make the children’s dreams come true.

“I am Saint Nicholas” in figures

This year, 247 children have participated in the project “I am Saint Nicholas”. About 200 donors, 60 volunteers and 80 project partners have been involved.

Photo by: Marina Burak