Day camps bring joy back to children

The Paper Show arrives in Oleksandrivka, and children’s eyes light up. Natasha and Dasha have organized another day camp for the Good4U club.

Our Daily Bread makes these camps possible by funding new games, sports equipment, and fancy-dress costumes used repeatedly in Ukrainian children’s activities. Not luxuries. Necessities for creating the kind of joyful, engaging experiences that help children be children again, even in wartime.

But the investment goes deeper than equipment and events. In September, Our Daily Bread co-funded training day for the children’s work volunteers in Oleksandrivka. The focus: understanding children better, grasping the psychology of both kids and their parents, improving their skills in working with young people. The church in Oleksandrivka paid twenty percent of the training costs. Our Daily Bread contributed the rest. A partnership that builds capacity, not dependency.

Natasha sits in the training room wearing her blue t-shirt, listening intently as the trainer explains developmental stages and trauma responses. Around her, other volunteers take notes, ask questions, share experiences. They’re learning to recognize when a child is struggling, respond with wisdom and compassion, and create safe spaces where healing can begin.

The Paper Show ends with applause and laughter. The training day ends with volunteers feeling more equipped, more confident, more ready to serve the children in their care.

Two different investments. One shared goal: helping Oleksandrivka’s children move forward, supported by adults who understand what they need and know how to provide it.