For the Children

Wednesday, January 17th

Today was all about the children. We worked to renovate a preschool in the town of Csonger, Ukraine. One driver of the project was that the school is now required to have a bomb shelter to remain open and had to reconfigure some of the space to make room for it.  It also was a facility badly in need of upgrades.

The renovation included a new activity space and movie room, new storage space and appliances, a new kitchen and a new group study room.

In the morning, we stopped by to see the school, with the renovation still very much under way.  They started on the project only a few weeks ago and have made amazing progress – new floors, walls, an electric heating system, fresh paint, and wired up for new lighting and AV equipment.  Still, there was a ton to do to get it finished.  And, we had a group of 40 kids and their parents coming that evening for the grand opening!  I felt like we were part of one of those home remodel tv shows with what seemed like an insurmountable amount of work to do before the big reveal.

IKEA Mania

While crews of workers and parent volunteers worked furiously on the school, our job was to assemble all of the furniture we purchased.  I’ve never seen so many IKEA boxes in one place, outside of an actual IKEA warehouse.  We quickly got to work.  I learned the two lessons of IKEA furniture:

1)    Putting together the first item takes a while, but on the second, third, and tenth(!) of the same type, you really crank them out.

2)    If there are leftover parts, it’s your fault, not IKEA’s.

We spent all day assembling shelving, desks, kitchen cabinets, and a couple of particularly tricky child-size kitchens.  As we built, teams of local volunteers were constantly loading them up and moving them to the school.

Battle of the Stews

While we assembled, two teams cooked outside over an open fire for a celebratory dinner that evening.  A group of locals made a Ukrainian rabbit stew.  And Brian Spain led another team making an Irish Guinness Beef Stew. 

(Both were absolutely delicious, by the way.)

Welcoming the Children Back

We went back to the school, paint just dry, final wiring still taking place, and all the new furniture and appliances rapidly being put into place.  The last hour was an absolute hive of activity.  A couple dozen more parent volunteers had arrived and everyone was working furiously to get it all in place.  We put new appliances in the kitchen and the storage room, hung shelving, and placed furniture.  Others were putting out toys and hanging kids’ artwork.  Another crew was cleaning up all around us.  It was incredible how so many people could work together so fluidly and get so much done in such a short time. 

Miraculously, with only a few minutes before the kids arrived, everything was finished. A complete transformation, and a facility not just a huge step up from what they had before, but nicer that most preschools throughout Ukraine. 

The kids (and the rest of the parents) arrived and we could just feel their excitement as they entered. Guillaume handed out candy and popcorn and Jonathan said a few words to recognize the work of the volunteers and the importance of the space.  He ended his talk with “Who wants to watch a movie?!” which was met with cheers, and movie night began.

Back in the study room, we had a dedication from the Mayor and Zsuzsanna also said a few words. As they spoke, the parents and workers in the room were tearing up.  You could see how much this meant to them.  To have a bright spot for their children in a community that really needs a bright spot.  I don’t know if there were any dry eyes in that room, but I know mine were not. 

The final dedication was with a plaque that Alex revealed on the outside of the school recognizing the contributors that helped make this project possible.  Thank you to all of you.  You’ve made a significant impact.