Inspiring Razom partner, BUR (Будуємо Україну Разом) continues organizing their camps all over Ukraine – from east to west. Most of BUR camps of 2018 are completed – helping tens of families and connecting more than 500 incredible volunteers at their campgrounds. One of our own young enthusiasts joined, and fully enjoyed the participation.
Sashko Falenchuk travelled a long way from New York to BUR camp in Berezhnytsia in the Carpathian Mountains, worked hard, made friends, and created amazing memories.
“Going to BUR for the first time this summer, I was very nervous. Would I be able to contribute or be a burden to everyone? Growing up in New York I didn’t have any experience in construction and wasn’t used to “roughing it out”. But I knew I would be fine the first evening when we sat around the fire and introduced ourselves. People came from different parts of Ukraine – places like Ternopil, Kharkiv, Lutsk, Luhansk, and even Crimea. Everyone was fun, friendly and willing to get their hands dirty. And that we did! We dug trenches for plumbing pipework, cleaned out an old cattle shed, unloaded construction supplies, mixed cement and laid floors. The weather tested us as it rained non-stop almost every day and our mountain site got so muddy that it wasn’t safe for any vehicles to go up or down. We got through it with jokes, camaraderie and great music blasting out of the camp’s speaker. It was special to meet the local gutsul people, like Yurko who played his sopilka, and learn more about the local culture. Physically, this was the hardest I worked in my life, but I enjoyed the company and the energy of the camp. BUR in Berezhnytsia will always be a special place to me, and somewhere I hope I can return to again.”
If you wish to have similar memorable experience, you still have the chance – the last BUR camp of the summer will take place in Novopskov, Luhansk Region. You can find the application form at goo.gl/NdvBR9
However, if your busy life cannot allow you to join a camp, you can still support BUR’s mission and efforts by donating or, even better, – by becoming a BURfriend. BURfriends are more than a hundred people of diverse background from various parts of the world – Kyiv, Kramatorsk, New York, Philadelphia, London and San Francisco, who have already set a recurring monthly donation to BUR. And this step is vital for the sustainability of the organization, as it is getting harder and harder to depend on unreliable grants, and not being sure whether the next project can be fully financially covered.
So, follow Будуємо Україну Разом, support BUR, become a BURfriend and set a monthly donation.
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