Ukraine - here I come...

What do I know about Ukraine? Well a bit.. as I am originally from Kyrgyzstan and both countries  used to be in the USSR. Hence our past connection. Also I speak Russian which is still prevalent in Ukraine just like in Kyrgyzstan. Funnily enough made lots of Ukrainian friends while in London. At West London YMCA we had international volunteers from Ukraine about 4 years in a row, Natalia, Katja, Maxim and Marina. I became good friends with all of them considering our ‘soviet’ link and also their home stay happened to be with Jan, our marketing manager who kept inviting me every year to welcome dinners to help them acclimatise to London. I didn’t mind as loved her cooking and of course invited them back to mine for a Kyrgyz cuisine too! I remember Michael our pastor was a bit apprehensive about eating with his fingers. :-)

 

However I never been to Ukraine so this is a great chance to visit and explore more how the country is recovering from the 70 odd years of soviet rule. It will also be great to learn about small youth centres in another post-soviet country, as I set up a youth NGO – Centre of Youth Initiatives ‘Jash Ordo’ (literal translation is youth centre) in my student years back in 1999. I oversaw it’s growth into one of the leading youth movements in Kyrgyzstan, delivered over 50 social projects covering a wide range of themes such as democracy, human rights, human trafficking, HIV/AIDS, elections, poverty, national strategy and many others. Hence my interest in taking part in this study tour!

 

I hope I would be able to learn and share my experiences with the all participants who are very international as from England, Ukraine, Belarus and Moldova.  Can’t wait!