Rachel Caklos For NP-UN.
Project Sonyashnik is a not-for-profit organization providing therapy support for the children of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Fallen Defenders. As the war rages on, the civilians of Ukraine require support and resources more than ever before. Project Soniashnyk recognizes that one of the most vulnerable demographics is the country’s children and provides them with an opportunity to experience an environment in nature away from the war. This project aims to help children with parents who have lost their lives on the front lines, who are missing in action or who are captured in prisoner-of-war camps behind enemy lines. Those impacted apply to the program and are invited to a secure area in Ukraine, where they are provided with the necessary support to aid them through their horrific circumstances.
Programs are curated to give the children a safe place to have fun, learn and attend therapy workshops to support their well-being. Additionally, with a focus on mental health, professional psychologists work directly with the children and provide one-on-one sessions, allowing each individual to seek help when they need it – feeling a sense of community, support and comfort knowing that they are taken care of. Camp counselors, once selected after undergoing an extensive application process, are provided with training on how to understand the sensitivity of their position. These volunteers are eager to spend time with the children and give them comfort to make new friends, engage in camp activities and enjoy time away from the war.
Oksana Hrycyna, the founder of Project Soniashnyk, is the daughter of a Ukrainian immigrant father and a Canadian mother. With the strong influence from her family and their Ukrainian heritage, her first language was Ukrainian, and she became a prominent member of the Toronto Ukrainian community. She attended PLAST, a Ukrainian Youth Scout Association based in the city with camps in the summer, Ukrainian Saturday school, and her local Ukrainian Catholic church. As she grew up, PLAST became a second home to Oksana where she was enrolled as a child and continues to be a member to this day.
Alongside her many roles in PLAST, she became a delegate for the Ukrainian Canadian Congress where she traveled around Canada to participate in numerous conventions and was exposed to the Ukrainian-Canadian initiatives supporting Ukraine. During university, Oksana was the President of York University Ukrainian Students Club for 3 years. She and a group of friends rebuilt SUSK, the Ukrainian Canadian Students’ Union, initially defunct and now a thriving and active community.
For Oksana, PLAST provided many of the foundational tools of leadership that allowed her to successfully run camps for 10 years. All of the basic knowledge skills of how to run a camp were garnered through workshops, learning from others and from her own experiences of
attending PLAST camps. In her second year of University, Oksana wanted to become more connected to her roots and decided to volunteer for Help Us Help– an organization that works with orphaned children, by providing them with life-skill workshop camps in the Carpathian mountains. She immensely enjoyed spending time with the children and fell in love with camp programs. Oksana quickly climbed the ranks and helped transform the program into one influenced by her Ukrainian scouting experiences. She put together the daily schedules, trips, delegated roles and additionally was the volunteer coordinator for eight years. Putting these camps together for a decade, Oksana was able to gain much experience in the organization and its operations.
During that time, she completed her studies and teachers college. Oksana decided to follow her lifelong dream of living in Ukraine. She worked for the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv, teaching English Literature and Creative Writing for nearly three years. A month and a half after her return to Canada, the Revolution of Dignity (Maidan Revolution) took place in 2014. Oksana remembers feeling immense pride that many of her former students were among those marching in the first waves of the protest, during which she lost colleagues and good friends as Ukraine defended its democratic values.
In 2013, Oksana became a teacher for the York Catholic District School Board teaching French and History. She teaches as much as she can about Ukraine within her courses, exploring the catalytic nature of the country’s rich history.
After her many years at Help Us Help, in 2018, Oksana decided to step away and take a break. She continued to volunteer with PLAST in both Canada and Ukraine until 2021 when the pandemic paused her work. When the war broke out in 2022, it was a challenging time for Ukrainians all over the world. Oksana was calling her family and friends daily to ensure their safety and urging them to evacuate. She explained in comparison to the 2014 conflict, the war posed a much bigger threat. With family members who survived the Second World War, everyone was in utter shock, watching the unfortunate events of history be repeated.
During the first month of the full-scale invasion, Oksana raised funds to send medical gear to Ukraine, alongside collecting and shipping defensive gear in suitcases. She was fundraising privately to donate and help the war effort, but after a few months, the donations slowed down. To not feel static, Oksana knew she wanted to do something that would directly help the children of Ukraine. With encouragement from friends, they suggested she start her own camp with a different vision. Oksana recognized that as a result of the war, there is a large number of children that now have acute needs such as dealing with war-induced trauma. With the help of many friends and volunteers, Project Soniashnyk began its operations focusing on children of Active and Fallen Members of Ukraine’s Armed Forces from western Ukraine.
Saint Javelin, a Toronto-based social enterprise, immediately supported the idea and provided much of the funding to get the not-for-profit started. In its first year, there were two camps: one in the summer with 55 campers and another the following winter with 42. After the success of the first camp, it was clear that Oksana had a greater vision for Project Soniashnyk. She believed that the organization should support children from across Ukraine, and not just children from the West. Therefore, Oksana proceeded to expand Project Soniashnyk, creating new Toronto and Lviv based teams of volunteers and Boards of Directors.
The summer camps take place at a large campsite, over 12 days in the Ukrainian wilderness, where campers sleep in tents, camps range in size from 110-120 children, and all children are 11-17 years of age. The program includes different hiking trails, activities to enjoy the environment and white-water rafting trips of up to 25 kilometers. The winter camps are 8 days long and smaller in size, keeping an intimate family feel. With the camp taking place closer to Christmas, campers can enjoy workshops based on celebrating Ukrainian culture and spending time with new friends during the holidays.
The war acts as an excuse for the removal and destruction of Ukrainian culture and history through cultural genocide. Therefore it is vital for campers to engage in cultural traditions to both experience and preserve their heritage.
Each camp focuses on a different aspect of Ukrainian culture. For instance, this past summer, campers explored the history of Ukraine where every day they uncovered a different period in Ukraine’s rich 1000 year old history. The final day was concentrated on diaspora contributions and sharing with the children the impact of Ukrainians all over the world. These Ukrainians have championed their community and cultural identity, influencing many industries with their involvement. Therefore, the camps aim to celebrate Ukrainian culture and inspire the next generation.
After the success of the first camp, Oksana obtained a major benefactor for the charity and began to reach out to friends and colleagues to share the opportunity to volunteer with Project Soniashnyk. From Canada to Ukraine, Oksana expressed that people were thrilled to be a part of an organization that is directly helping the children of Ukraine and giving them a lifetime of memories in nature and the safety of a caring community.
The second camp had grown exponentially, accommodating roughly 110 children and 35 counselors in the summer and 65 children this past winter. The program was based on providing various modalities of therapies including music, food, art and storytelling. Alongside accredited psychologists who were directly working with the children, the extensive programming taught the children skills in a fun way and the camp was “just incredible.” Oksana explained, “Our trauma therapy camps in Ukraine provide kids a chance to decompress and heal from the impacts of the war.” With the help of motivated volunteers who are present and strongly appreciate what Project Soniashnyk is trying to accomplish, the camps have continued to be a major success!
While planning a fifth camp, it became clear the need for support grew exponentially. As the past winter camp had 125 applicants, children had to be turned away as there were only 65 spots available. Oksana expressed, “The worst thing for me is turning kids away from a program that is really incredible and impactful. We have amazing camp counselors that pour their blood, sweat and tears into creating excellent workshops for the kids. This is why funding these programs are so necessary.” She explained that many of the volunteers are teachers, PLAST and CYM members and people who are inspired to help. Currently, the organization is looking to fund its upcoming Winter Trauma Rehab Camp, roughly $40,000.
Project Soniashnyk’s goals to address current major issues that face the youth of Ukraine move beyond their camps and provide children with other resources for guidance and learning opportunities. The continued success of Project Soniashnyk in both improving the mental health of the campers and preserving Ukrainian heritage whilst keeping the children protected in a safe space has inspired others to follow suit. Partnering with its sister organization, Інші/Others (supports internally displaced persons), an online community hub, providing access to a variety of webinars and in-person workshops in Lviv. A hub is also being created for veterans in need of support after returning from the war. Others Fund works directly with veterans, and the needs of their children are directed to Project Soniashnyk. Hand in hand, these two organizations are bringing support to war victims and aiding the soldiers who continue to fight for Ukraine and its sovereignty.
Oksana has created an environment where everyone works towards a common goal and is treated fairly. The eagerness of volunteers to come back to the project each year highlights just how much they are loved, appreciated and cared for. Taking care of her volunteers and facilitating their success is always something Oksana has been passionate about. She ensures she listens and helps them in any way she can, directly impacting the success of the camps.
Project Soniashnyk is a direct response to the consequences of the war and its effects on the children of Ukraine. Oksana expressed that she wants to prepare the children as much as possible for adulthood, motivating them through learning about their culture and to take part in the rebuilding of Ukraine when the war ends. These lessons are aimed to mold and mentor the next generations of Ukrainians to become fruitful citizens, who not only care about mental health and well-being but also foster a sense of citizenship and community. “This means that we are doing a small part to protect the future of Ukraine. We want to create positive memories associated with Ukraine so that the children will stay and not leave before the age of 18 to build a life somewhere else.” Therefore, the main motivation of this project is to invest and secure the future of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian diaspora is a prominent community that has the power to make positive change. As Oksana explained, the diaspora must continue to engage our community partners and allies throughout the world and keep Ukraine on its agenda. It is a powerful source that holds justice at its core and will continue to fight for the protection of Ukraine. Through protests, marches, the development of new organizations and innovative fundraising, the diaspora has the strength to sway popular opinion and keep Ukraine’s needs for support visible. For her, PLAST was an experience that taught her how to be human – It instilled core principles to respect people, and the earth. It reminds the diaspora to come together and celebrate what it means to be Ukrainian.
“Україна is not a lost cause.” Oksana expresses that Ukrainians are some of the most talented, innovative, hardworking and resilient people in the world. “They will survive…regardless of what Україна has gone through. It just needs the space to breathe and not be in defense mode. If Україна was allowed and finally given the chance to spread its wings and fly, it surely would be one of the best countries in the world.”
Planting the Seeds of Ukraine’s Future Together.
Thank you to Oksana for taking the time to speak to me and for doing such tremendous work for the Ukrainian diaspora.
Please find links below:
https://www.projectsoniashnyk.com/
www.facebook.com/ProjectSoniashnykCharity
https://www.instagram.com/projectsoniashnyk
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