Friendships are important during adolescence, for building trust, and conquering hardships. However, their beginnings have their own stories. Children can together through a shared sense of humor and football, a trip, or task, which can initially cause disagreements, as was the case with our children from Ukraine. Read about their journey to friendship.

They grew up and laughed together in Bortnyky

Andriy and Roman grew up together in the Boys‘ home ‚Živá perla‘ in Bortnyky. Even as young boys, they were inseparable friends and spend a lot of time together in school and during play. Ruslan Markiv, the director of the orphanage in Bortnyky, often saw them enjoying themselves and laughing together. Over the years, as interests of children change, they still found time to play football together, play on computers and later work out in the gym together. Their friendship also helped them through difficult times, providing a space to confide in each other about their problems. ‚Since the beginning of the war, they have lived in the same city and remain great friends. Now they are both 21 years old. I am sure, they deeply appreciate their mutual support, as it is still evident today in their mutual respect. In my own experience, having this kind of support is an important source of stability and trust in a person’s life,‘ revealed Ruslan.

A trip to Lviv brought them together

The friendship of Alina and Yulie began during an girls‘ trip to Lviv with Charitas Kolomyia. ‚We sat next to each other and talked about all sorts of things. For example, that in our free time we both love to paint, the music are we listen to, and what our favourite food is. It was nice, we along from the very beginning,‚ Yulia describes their first shared experience. Alina continues: ‚And then it was great how we searched Lviv for that place with the good ice-cream. It was truly delicious, the best we have ever had.‚ The girls formed a friendship, that has now lasted two years. Both look forward to trips with Charitas Kolomyia. They always agree on what to wear and exchange gifts. Even though, they live quite far apart, they go for walks together, celebrate birthdays, and spend time together on courses. Alina and Yulia don´t know yet, what the future holds, but they are not ready to part ways. For now, they just live, dream and grow.

One team, different talents

Denys, Yurii and Kateryna had to join forces for a Mother’s Day event. The organizers from Charitas Ternopil decided to include children in the preparations of this event to teach them cooperation and form new friendships. They were divided into teams, and Denys, Yurii and Kateryna had to come up with a concept of the presentation. But the beginning it was rough ‚At first, we kind of argued a bit. Everyone wanted something different, and I wanted to do it my way, while Yurii and Kateryna had different ideas. But eventually, we got on the same page,‚ Denys recalls. ‚I knew that I was the strongest speaker, so we decided that I would present the whole thing. Yurii is great at drawing and design, and Denys gathered the materials and assigned responsibilities,‘ Kateryna adds. Working in a group taught them how to communicate and they become fast friends. To this day, they spend their free time together and have already prepared several more presentations.

Thank you to everyone, who are helping children abroad. Your support not only brings hope for a brighter future for the children. Thanks to you, they can meet new people with whom they will build lifelong friendships. Become a part of the project a child from Ukraine.

I WANT TO SUPPORT CHILDREN FROM UKRAINE