UWCF Helps the Children and Youth Creative Centre of Avdiyivka

During our visit to the city of Avdiyivka, UWCF team members visited some local facilities and, alongside the music school and the comprehensive school No. 1, we also contacted the Children and Youth Creative Centre of the Avdiyivka City Council of Donetsk Region.

For children attending the fine arts studio in the Children and Youth Creative Centre, we gifted 10 drawing easels, 20 gouache sets, 15 paintbrush sets, and 40 frames to arrange exhibitions of children’s handmade works.

Over the recent years, tough challenges befell the staff of the Children and Youth Creative Centre. In 2014, the facility suffered a direct shell hit damaging its material and technical base. However, despite all military problems, in 2015 the Children and Youth Creative Centre resumed work and brought together the first 280 “wartime" children in its study groups. At the close of the school year 2015-2016, the institution was attended by over 400 students, whereas in the current year 2016-2017 study groups have already enrolled more than 600 children of Avdiyivka. Classes in study groups of the Children and Youth Creative Centre give young students the joy of childhood because teachers do their best to distract children from wartime distress and losses, support them psychologically.

Ms Lyudmyla Smolenska, Director of the Centre, gave us an extensive look around the institution, where every study room, corridor, or small corner strikes you as utterly unique. In the Children and Youth Creative Centre, you cannot find two similar stands, exhibitions or even walls – all of them are painted, papered or decorated with diverse ornaments or themes by study group leaders and students in their own hands. Walking along the centre’s corridors, you cannot help but notice a broad-crowned tree on the wall with a history of its own. Repeated vibrations due to shellfire had caused the wall crack, so children found a creative solution to the problem – the crack was replaced with a wonderful tree as a symbol of the life going on and the hope for a peaceful future.

A crown jewel of the Children and Youth Creative Centre is its drama group participated by both children and adults. The institution is also really proud of other students such as handmade masters, dancers, singers and artists. The special thing about the Children and Youth Creative Centre is the early childhood development group, where pre-school children while playing gain some computer skills through developing games, and with the use of large toy elements build various geometric figures.

United World Cultures Foundation plans to continue supporting the Children and Youth Creative Centre and its talented students. Now the children’s facility needs to outfit a vocal studio, for which purpose radio microphones and amplified speakers are required.