Спілка жінок Херсонщини

Over three years of implementation of the social project “I am Saint Nicholas!”, its members have grown and started to dream more globally.

17 December 2019, Kherson Women Union has organized a large-scale meeting of participants of the social project “I am Saint Nicholas!”. 204 children, who have already participated in the project in the previous years, gathered at the residence of Saint Nicholas in the III line of “Fabrika” Shopping and Leisure Center.

Kherson Women Union decided to bring them together to get acquainted and, in fact, to learn about cherished dreams, because the key role of the project is live communication with children.

Union activists constantly whispered to each other: “Look, this is Mykolka. He was the “face of the project in 2017.. “ “He is all grown up!”. “And here is Svitlana, what a pretty girl she is...” Where is our Novokyivka? I want to say hello..”

These children became very close to activists. Everyone remembered their special meeting with them.

What do the children dream of?

Yes, the latest technologies take their toll and have a profound impact on children, including the pupils of institutional care establishments. So, there were a lot of dreams of mp3 speakers, wireless headphones, phones and laptops. Even the dreamer Danylo, who last year wanted St. Nicholas to give him a remote-controlled helicopter, this year has already become older and dreams of a music speaker.

Particularly amazing were the dreams, which, at first glance, seemed to be within a stone throw. For example, 11-year-old Maryna and Katia dreams of seeing the capital of our state – the city of Kyiv, 15-year-old Tetiana – about traveling to the Carpathians, and 11-year-old Anna – to see her brother, who is currently in the full-time military service.

16-year-old Yevhenii, who clearly knows what he dreams of, has just stunned with his dream. It's a car. It doesn't even bother him that he won't have the driver's license for a few years yet. To the union members’ opinion, it is the right time to launch the project:

“I am Saint Nicholas!” is not about ice cream and gifts, but about the social adaptation of these children and their dialogue with the world around”, the chairman of KWU Iryna Nikolaieva stressed. The project is a map of a child's goals.

“We want them to grow thinking people, consistent in their goals, to dream and to know that with their own efforts they can accomplish a lot of things. The main they need to do is to go purposefully,” I. Nikolaieva said.

The very idea to acquaint children in some interesting way came to the members of the union right after they have introduced the correspondence between the participating children from different facilities, involved in the project as part of this year's project “I am Saint Nicholas!”-2019. The children corresponded, shared the cherished dreams, and then have met new friends in real life.

“I am Saint Nicholas!” is a kind of communication platform. Therefore, this day was planned in such a way that children, activists and facilities teams could communicate in an informal setting.

As part of the festive meeting, the animators have organized some active kinds of activities and playful competitions, and the exemplary choreographic team of “Delsarte” Dance School has invited the children to take part in a dance flashmob.

The entertainment show surprised the children with a never-before-seen fire show. Moreover, the performance about the good and the evil from the animators disguised in the devil and the angle, which is traditional for St. Nicholas Day, got a big response.

St. Nicholas, who by constant tradition has his own post-box in the III line of “Fabrika” shopping and leisure center, felicitated children, and will fulfill the dreams of some of them in a few days. So, those who came with their letter could send it to the addressee.

This holiday of meeting new friends has been attended this year by the pupils of Novokyivka Special Boarding School, Stara Zburivka Special Boarding School, Stara Zburivka General Education Boarding School of sanatorium type and Boarding Orphanage “Radist”.

We are grateful to all who helped us in this bright and joyful day: “Fabrika” shopping and leisure center, “Agro Star” Private Enterprise, Joint Venture “Yamak” LLC, “Kalanchatske ATP 16549” LLC, “Kibernetyky” network of advanced electronics stores, “Zeppelin” Restaurant, “Jump Park”, “Slon” Sound Agency, Alona Zariutina and “Assorti” Event Agency, “Sklyar Studio”, “Ukrainskyi Pivden” web-based media, “Roks” Radio.