“We see that people are willing to help”
Kyiv scouts held a charity fair to raise funds for their comrades serving in the ATO area
The Plast National Scout Organization held its traditional Easter Charity Fair in Mykhailivska Square of Kyiv on April 5. The fair’s proceeds are usually used to finance scout camps, but this year, the young people are going to spend it to help their fellow scouts who are now fighting in the ATO area. In keeping with tradition, the fair’s guests could buy pastries and scout-made handicraft articles.
Zlata, 15, joined the Plast a year ago, and it was her first fair. She showed off her culinary skills. “All these dishes have been cooked by me and my friend in a day,” she said pointing to a table laden with sweets. “They include lenten and non-lenten muffins, apple-and-carrot cakes with prunes, and banana cakes. I started cooking quite recently and tried my hand at baking for the first time only after joining the Plast. Now that I had a reason for it, I learned quickly. I like cooking and even dream of establishing my own bakery in the future. Thus, the Plast has helped me to find myself.”
Some Plast cooks are very young indeed. Daria, 9, joined her friends to sell honey cakes, cookies, and popcorn. She has been a girl scout for four years and become accustomed to fairs over that time. “It is important to sell only handmade goods,” Daria shared her thoughts with us. “People need to know that they are buying a real Ukrainian product. I myself painted eggs, made patriotic brooches, and cooked popcorn with my mommy’s help. We are all doing here what we know best and please people with it.”
The scouts themselves say that because of the situation in the country charity events, such as this fair, are attracting much more attention than before.
“More people have come this time compared to the past year,” girl scout Anna Loboda told us. “The very atmosphere has changed. People have become more serious about it, understanding that our boys in the ATO area need help. We feel this spirit of patriotism and a desire to help.” According to the scouts, a few dozen of their comrades are fighting in the ATO area now.
“We managed to raise up to 5,000 hryvnias per fair in the years past,” spokesperson of the Plast’s Kyiv branch Oleksandra Petruskaite told us. “It was enough for us. The fair’s locations have expanded significantly by now. While we held the event in only one location previously, we now have the square outside the St. Michael’s Cathedral complemented by the square near the Church of St. Nicholas in the Askoldova Mohyla neighborhood and Lvivska Square near the Church of St. Basil. We hope that funds raised will at least triple as well.”
