[Fredslist] Ukraine - Requesting Help from Friends

[Jennifer Berger]

Hello Gotham,

I am passing this message along from a good friend, Samantha Kyrkostas who is currently stationed in the Peace Corps in the Ukraine.  She is working with a camp there to help with social change. The camp will not receive enough funding to run unless more donations are received. Please take a minute to read the full description from her below.  Any donations are appreciated.  Feel free to email her at: samantha.kyrkostas at gmail.com

Thank you!

Jenny Berger
Co-Chair, Gotham Young Professionals

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Donate here: https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-171


Dear Friends and Family,


Lately, I’ve been hearing people say, Ukraine will happen. They mean that the government will 
straighten up. (The  latest elections have proven to be a good start; 
the egg throwing in  parliament a step backwards.) They mean that the 
economy will turn  around. That fewer people will struggle to get fed. 
But if Ukraine is  going to happen, a new generation of thinking is 
required. This thinking  is being cultivated at ABCamp.

Now in it’s second year, ABCamp 
grew out of a group of  weekend leadershipcamps started a half  dozen years ago by two Peace Corps Volunteers who recognized the 
need  for such education.  ABCamp, started two years ago by a pair of 
young Ukrainian  women, is a two-week long camp that keeps a 
concentrated focus on civic  leadership and project planning.

Very quickly after meeting with 
camp director and co-founder, Anya  Beyspalaya, I saw the potential for 
big change. Part inexhaustable energy  and part steadfast commitment, 
Anya is an inspiration. Her positivity  about Ukraine’s future is infectiousand  the belief is spreading.  After only one short 
weekend training, I saw  Ukraine’s future in an entirely different 
light.  An alumna of these  leadership weekends and camps, Anya put her 
project planning skills to  good use and paired with co-founderand  best friend Alya to start ABC.

At ABCamp, teams of students are taught an array of different  classes: from project planning to music, 
sharing cultures to debate.  During their two weeks at camp, students are  set with the task of organizing  projects around 
Kharkov, the camp’s  headquarters.  And their efforts are visible. Theyclean the city’s parks, connect with its citizens, all the while 
working  together to overcome the challenges of planning a project. The 
support  network that has been created out of these camps is something 
to marvel  at.  After camp, students who express a serious interest in 
planning a  project in their home community areoutfitted 
with a teacher-mentor to help them through the process. In  short, this 
is a camp that is producing real, sustainable results. (How I love when 
these words come together!)


Now, it’s simply funding that we need. Which should, after all, be  the easiest part.

I agree with the things I hear, 
Ukraine will happen.  But creating alliesrequires advocates.  And this means investing in the future that we want.  I’m 
working for  ABCamp because I can see the changes it’screating here in Ukraine. It is an open, Socratic space. It is the platform for change that so many of us 
volunteers are  searching for (desperately, sometimes) during our 
service.  It comes  back to the thing about the fisherman and the fish.  There are a lot  here who are hungry (for knowledge, food, happiness) 
but few who are willingto take up the work of learning what it 
takes to catch their own meal.  ABCamp is a special place where everyone is grabbing for the fishing  rod.

If you have time and if you are 
able, please consider making a contribution.

https://www.peacecorps.gov/index.cfm?shell=resources.donors.contribute.projDetail&projdesc=343-171

Thank you.
Samantha


      
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