Dnipro Appeal Christmas Trip Report

[OwenWright]

As one of the numerous child sponsors, I had been updated about the upcoming Dnipro Appeal trip to Dnipropetrovsk. When I found out that Steven Carr could be taking the trip on his own, I got in touch and offered my services.

I explained that I was willing to book myself on the same flights and help out with the luggage (and luggage allowance), take photographs and generally be on hand to assist. My only previous visit had been to watch Hibs play in the Uefa cup and I was keen to re-visit Dnipropetrovsk and see for myself the places and people I had only read so much about on the DniproKids.com website. It was also an opportunity to find out how our sponsorship helping out in everyday life. So, without further ado, lets get started with the trip report - and what better place to start than in the departure lounge!

Thursday 3rd January 2008

Edinburgh Airport. Snowing heavily. We get our cases checked in, only just managing to keep them below maximum weight allowed, and manage to meet with Alastair Shields from Lufthansa. Alastair had kindly arranged (as he has done on previous occasions) for us to travel with excess baggage without incurring excess baggage charges. I had prepared myself to be carrying a bit of luggage, but with the cases now booked right through to Kiev I was feeling at bit of a loose end. However, this feeling didn’t last too long as Steven sat me down and explained what was likely to be happening over the next few days. And I soon discovered he was right as there was always something needing done! Loose end? I should have been so lucky!

With the snow falling, and worry starting to set in about delays and missed connections, we boarded the plane. Checking the departure times of our two connecting flights and hoping we weren’t about to be left stranded in Frankfurt, I pondered over the sequence of places visited on this journey. Dundee, Perth, Edinburgh, Frankfurt, Munich and finally Kiev, all in one day.

We were lucky. Despite the snowy conditions in Edinburgh as we left, we didn’t miss our connections, although it didn’t stop us having a panicked rush from one terminal to another in both Frankfurt and Munich. Pictured is the impressive, but frighteningly long when you have a connection to make, connecting tunnel the runs underneath Frankfurt airport between terminals.

We arrive in Kiev slightly behind schedule but it’s late at night, so we breeze through passport control, which I’m informed can take over an hour to get through at the busiest times. Steven tells me of the missing case on the previous trip and he looks apprehensive as we wait for the cases but he needn’t have worried as all the cases make it through okay. We make our way out of the airport and the -18c temperature hits us. We bundle ourselves into the city centre bus and head to our hotel for a welcome sleep.

Friday 4th January 2008

It felt like heads had barely hit the pillow before it was time to get up again. With an early train to catch we were up and out by 6am and heading to the train station for the express train to Dnipropetrovsk. The express train takes nearly 6 hours to get to Dnipropetrovsk so I dread to think how long the “normal” train takes. However, the train journey is eased slightly with TV’s in every carriage showing films, and with a waitress service offering fresh tea for just 15p a cup it certainly beats the service found on most UK trains. If only the films hadn’t been in Russian! Three dubbed films and half a Clive Cussler novel later, we arrive in Dnipropetrovsk just after lunchtime. Did I mention it was going to be cold? It ranged between -10c and -18c with the wind-chill taking it down to around -26c at times. Disappointingly it never snowed but at least we didn’t have to contend with the cold AND the wet. Ira, Natasha and Mike come to meet us off the train. It was the first time I had met the Dnipropetrovsk based part of the Dnipro Appeal team, so they were very pleased to see us and it didn’t take long for the banter to flow. As might be expected sport was high on the agenda and it was funny listening to Mike and Stevie arguing over what was proper football, with Mike calling our football “soccer” and Steven retaliating by calling Mike’s American version “throwball”! The fortunes of the supported teams were discussed with Hibs, Newcastle Utd and FC Dnipro getting a mention before Mike plays the ace card following his “throwball” teams, the Indianapolis Colts, amazing Superbowl victory. We stopped off at “Dafi” (a shopping centre, similar in style to Cameron Toll or The Gyle but smaller) and had a quick bite of lunch. Here I had my introduction to some Ukrainian style dishes in a buffet style restaurant called “Poozata Hata” which roughly translates to Fat Belly House. Given the amount of food on offer and the fact a 3 course meal can be purchased for around £1.50 it seems Fat Belly House seems very apt. It was here I was introduced to one of Ukraine’s more popular dishes Borsch, a filling soup with beetroot being the main ingredient. Both Steven and I were staying at the apartment rented by Pam Nelson, the woman that runs the Crisis Pregnancy Centre, which was situated mid-way between Mike’s apartment and Ira’s apartment. The apartment is used to store all the donated baby clothes and nappies and it’s also where Pam meets with the young mothers needing help. We headed there after our lunch in “Dafi” to drop off the luggage.

I’m not sure if Steven mentioned this before, but the apartment is on the 9th floor and the lift is rarely working. In fact, on this trip, the lift never worked the whole duration of our stay. Climbing the 18 flights of steps was tiring enough for me, but I couldn’t help but wonder what it would like trying to do the same thing with a buggy and a child whilst pregnant.

Pam was in the flat waiting for us and after a quick hello she showed us round the apartment and showed us where we’d be sleeping. I was also given instructions on how to make Turkish Coffee, but with 500ml bottles of Staropramen lager going for 35p at the local supermarket I never did get round to making myself any.

With our bags now dropped off it was time to start work. Prior to our arrival Ira had been asked to find out if there were any urgent items that the kids needed so that the shopping could be started before we got there. Steven informed me that prior to getting Ira on board, trips were almost totally taken up with manic shopping trips done in either sweltering heat or sub-zero temperatures. We headed off to Ira’s apartment to collect the items to take to the Odinkovka orphanage. The items purchased by the Dnipro Appeal for the orphanage consisted of soap, tooth paste, sponges, tooth brushes, light bulbs, sanitary towels, electric kettles, slippers, socks, under wear, gloves, hats, scarves, washing powder, games, toys and cartoon DVD’s.

It was my first visit to the Odinkovka orphanage and I wasn’t sure what to expect. In fact with so many different place names flying about the place I quickly lost track of which place was which! A quick interrogation of Steven sorted it all out:

• Predniprovsk TB Children’s Centre – One of the original places to be visited way back in September 2005. Closed (no children) over the Christmas period for sanitation.
• Odinkovka Orphanage – Children of school age
• Baby House Orphanage – Children of pre-school age
• Bear Child Crisis Pregnancy Centre – drop in centre for expecting mothers and parents.

We unloaded bags from the van and popped into the Assistant Directors office. We passed on some Christmas gifts we’d purchased for the Assistant Director, head nurse and the orphanage doctor. Items that we might consider basic (Gillette Mach3 and some shaving foam for the doctor) are still viewed as a luxury and this was reinforced almost every day I was in Dnipropetrovsk.

The Assistant Director presented Steven with a gift that the children had made, a small clay ornament model of a Ukrainian style fireplace, before taking us round the orphanage to view some of the changes that had been made since Stevens last visit.

One of the most dramatic changes was a conversion of one of the large rooms that had previously been a bedroom for the girls. It had been divided into several smaller rooms, each sleeping 3-4, instead of the 15-20 it used to. This now gives the girls a bit of privacy and allows girls of a similar age to be roomed together.

The difference between the boys’ room, which is still to be done, and the new girls’ rooms were phenomenal. The girls now have something that looks far more like a bedroom, complete with wardrobes and desks.

The next step is for a similar refurbishment for the boy’s area. There were also other new desks and various bits of furniture that had arrived, some of which was the common area/classroom where the girls had been hard at work putting up Christmas decorations.

Whilst we were spending time in the orphanage, kids kept coming up and showing us the letters, photos and gifts they had received from sponsors. They do literally treat them like gold dust and the faces beamed whilst showing them off and Ira informed us they loved getting the letters translated time and time again.

We were fortunate enough to be able to sit in on a couple of English lessons that the kids were being given. These lessons are completely voluntary but Shane tells us the kids love to attend. First up was Andrei in his purple Hibs top. You could tell he was impressed with Stevens articulate manipulation of the Russian language! Steven tried speaking in Russian with Andrei replying in English. Although I have no idea what Steven was saying, Shane, who was giving the lesson managed to help them both out. It was like listening to one side of a telephone conversion.

Next up was Sasha. Sasha was a few years older than Andrei and had been studying a bit longer. Sasha also seemed impressed with Stevens language skills and the two of them chatted away, while I had a quick chat with English speaking Shane.

It was getting dark and the kids needed to wind down so we said our goodbyes with promises to see everyone on Monday when we would go ice skating.

Still tired after our journey, we headed for a bite to eat. No surprise to anyone that knows Steven, we ended up at Rancho Villa, or Rancho Pancho as it’s been renamed by Steven. A great meal and a quick drink later we started on the road home. “Taxi?” I asked. “Aye” was Stevens quick reply. “Nyet.” Said Natasha, “Marshrootka”.

“Didn’t she have a hit with ‘Toy Soldiers’?” I asked. Two puzzled looks and a shake of my head later, we wandered up to the main road and stopped at the road side.

With orders to keep an eye out for a number 100 or a 101 we stood for around ten minutes (getting colder by the minute) until Natasha finally stepped out and flagged down a minibus. It was a number 84. We didn’t ask.

Just 2 minutes up the road I felt a tap on the shoulder. The lad that had just climbed on was handing me a 5 Grievna note. Confused? I was. It’s my first introduction to the “marshrootka”, a popular form of public transport in Ukrainian cities. In Dnipropetrovsk these mini-buses, just like our own buses, are numbered and follow specific routes around the city. The biggest difference though is there are no set bus-stops and you simply wave one down and jump on. Once on board you hand your fare to the person in front, just over 1 grievna (around 15p), and it gets passed down to the driver. If you are due any change it gets passed back up from the driver. When you reach your destination you simply give the driver a shout and he pulls over and lets you out. A form of travel that takes a little getting used to, but a very cheap option and popular with the locals.

We reach our destination and Steven and I jump out to head back to the apartment. Steven decides to have a bit of fun at my expense. “You’ll like this, it’s funny” he says “Lick your lips.” So, curious and being the trusting person I am, I did. About 5 seconds later I have two frozen lips!!

Saturday 5th January 2008

We wake up to the sound of mobile phone alarms ringing and prepare for the day ahead. Not all flats have hot running water but we were fortunate in that the apartment had a fairly newly installed small hot water tank, although it barely had enough water for two showers. We layered up with the thermals and prepared for the cold. Saturdays, as everyone knows, are for football. Except we were thousands of miles away from Easter Road, and we all know what happens when you cant get to the football. Shopping! We set off for the “Metro” store (think of a Makro or Costco type cash and carry) to buy items for the Bear Child Centre. Pampers, shampoo, cream, baby food etc – to me, everyday basics but items that are desperately needed by the Crisis Centre for their struggling mothers. We quickly filled up two trolleys, and that was it. It seemed a lot as we were loading it up but, as Pam later told us, it wouldn’t last long with over a hundred struggling mothers likely to visit the Centre in the coming months!

Given his experiences on previous trips Steven couldn’t believe we’d only spent just over 30 minutes shopping. Previous trips seemed to have been filled with hours on end in shops getting hot, bothered and very stressed. It is a testament to the progress the Dnipro Appeal has made and also how valuable Ira is to the charity.

It was over so fast, in fact, that I didn’t even get a chance to visit the fish. Supermarkets in Ukraine have water tanks full of live fish, I’m guessing you choose your fish and that’s your evening meal sorted. Once we’d finished packing all the shopping into the van, the realisation hit us. This all needed to be carried up to the 9th floor – and the lift was out of order! Not to worry – we had some able assistants in Mikes kids Josh and Alex and with Ira, Natasha et al we managed it all in one trip.

As some of you may be aware, FC Dnipro are building a new stadium, which is also earmarked for use during the 2012 Championships. We stopped off on the way to the Baby Orphanage and had a quick look round. Much larger than the old stadium (links to both on google maps are at the end) it was starting to look quite impressive.

Even with Stevens fluent language skills there was no way we were going to get past security for a closer look inside the satdium so we drove slowly around the site, from the south west corner to the north side admiring the stadium with ‘filled in’ corners and wondering what Easter Road could look like……

After the flying visit to the stadium we stopped off at the fans shop for some souvenirs and a photo opportunity. Don’t try this at home kids – it was around -18c and his knees are turning blue for a reason – and it’s not to match the shorts.

Fortunately Steven had the sense to change back into several layers of clothing, and we headed off to deliver 15 small pairs of boots for one of the age groups at the Baby House Orphanage near the Predniprovsk TB Sanatorium.

Before we had arrived in Dnipropetrovsk, Ira had managed to source boots for the Baby Orphanage but was about 3 pairs short. A quick visit to the market and we had 3 new pairs of boots added to the dozen or so previously purchased and ready to take to the orphanage.

Sadly it was lunchtime when we arrived at the Baby House and the children had just sat down for their meal. The staff, not wanting to cause a riot, ushered 3 of the kids out of their group to try on their new boots. Now I have to admit, up until this point I thought I was doing quite well, keeping emotionally detached and telling myself “I’m here to go shopping, carry stuff around” but this was getting tough. These three kids were so well behave, clearly looked out for and helped each other, taking shoes off and setting them to one side. I don’t know what would have happened if we’d been swamped by the whole group!

Next stop – Predniprovsk TB Sanatorium...

The Predniprovsk TB Sanatorium is right next door to the Baby Orphanage so it was just a short drive round the narrow country lane and we were there. We arrived and unloaded items purchased along with some Christmas gifts for Vasily and his staff. Handbags were the order of the day for the assistants (you know what they say about women and accessories – they can never have enough!) with Vasily becoming the proud owner of a bottle of 15 year old single malt. I was introduced to Vasily and he then gave Steven, Ira and I a tour of the facility showing us what was new and improvements that had been made.

The centre was quiet – all the children were away during the winter break and it’s the ideal time to sanitise the rooms. An ionisation lamp (pictured) previously purchased by the Dnipro Appeal was pointed out by Vasily. This is used to help the children with breathing problems (especially during the summer months) and Vasily confirms to us that there is a marked difference in the room when it is being used and it definitely helps the kids. We were also shown new chairs and desks which were ready to be put into classroom along with new smaller wooden chairs, for the smaller kids, currently being varnished by the staff.

Vasily had some great news that they have another sponsor in the form of a successful local businessman who is matching the Dnipro Appeals efforts and supplying cupboards, lockers and other furniture. Thanks to the Dnipro Appeal classrooms boasted new chalkboards, teachers’ desks and seats, although not all have been upgraded I hope this will happen shortly. When asked if there were any items in need of replacement we were shown a bed settee that the doctor used for catching up on sleep – it was literally falling apart. A couple of lockable medical cabinets are also desperately needed.

After the tour Vasily ushered us back to his office where his staff had kindly set up a bit of lunch for us. I was pre-warned that Vasily likes to show his appreciation with vodka toasts during the course of the lunch and the chats about how things are progressing. Even with a warning though it can still catch you unawares!

Although Vasily does not speak any English we are able to discuss (through Ira translating) how the Dnipro Appeal had helped over the last few months and also how we could help improve things in the coming months. We finished up at the TB Sanatorium and headed back into Dnipropetrovsk. Steven had a birthday invite from FC Dnipro supporting friends of his and, according to Steven, it was also compulsory to walk on the river now that it was once again frozen over. With Vasily’s vodka toasts, and similar still to come with the FC Dnipro supporters, it’s fair to say the evening became a bit blurred.

Sunday 6th January 2008

Bright eyed and bushy tailed (well, almost) we were up and invited to attend a church service. It was strange hearing familiar hymns in a different language but I had the ever present Natasha on hand to translate a Christmas nativety play that was performed. Afterwards we had a cup of tea and caught up with Mike’s family. Steven by this point seemed to have had contracted conjunctivitis. Of course at the time we thought he only had a bit of grit in his eye. The local remedy? Cold Tea! I have pictures of him with his head back and tea getting dripped into his eye but promised not to publish them. However, for a small donation to dniprokids……

Later that evening we all met up together for the customary ‘Family Dinner’ at a local steak house. It’s a way of saying thank you to everyone that helps the Dnipro Appeal out during the course of the year. An event like this is not usually affordable to those in Dnipropetrovsk so it’s nice to get them all together and see them enjoy the treat. Now, although we appeared to eat £2 steak every night you have to remember that it’s all relative. While steak and taxi’s appear to cost a fraction of what they would cost here (£3 to get from one side of Edinburgh to the other? I think not) these are still very much luxury items as the average monthly salary in the Ukraine is around £150. After a very nice and filling meal the Christmas gifts we brought over were handed out. Amongst the gifts, much to the delight of the kids and shock of Mike and Michelle, the kids received clap-sticks. Much noise followed! The highlight of the night had to be Stevens ‘real’ football from Mike. The blue Colts American football was used to break up slow evenings for the rest of the trip.

Monday 7th January 2008 – Christmas Day

Monday morning and Christmas day in Ukraine, and it’s a Christmas Day that I don’t think I will forget any time soon.

Woken to the sound of doorbells ringing from 8am we wondered what on earth was happening. We’d been told to just ignore the phone and intercom so I tried to snooze, but it kept on for ages! It turns out its customary for kids to visit houses on Christmas morning for treats, in the same way that out kids might on Halloween.

Today was literally the day. Mike picked us up and with Ira in tow we went down to the local skating rink. There was a little mix-up in the timings (levels of communication in Ukrainian State facilities seems to be somewhat fractured at best) and the kids had already arrived, so rather than skate then eat, we ate then skated. Now, most of you know what MacDonalds is like when you go with kids. What we never managed to do was take a photograph of the face of the employee who served us when we asked for 38 happy meals. Classic.

The kids were literally “Lovin’ It”! We requisitioned a sizeable section of the food court and it was buzzing with excited kids. It was hard to keep them in their seats long enough for them to eat their meals. They were up, they were down and they were off for a wander. The Shopping Centre we were in was quite large and had all sorts of shops, as well as the skating rink and a multi-screen cinema. The girls were off looking at the clothes and beauty shops, the boys checking out the video games shops and the smaller kids trying to take in everything!!

Ira and Steven nipped off to organise the tickets for the skating while the kids were rounded up and finished off their meals. It was only a short walk upstairs to the ice rink and you could tell that the kids excitement was reaching boiling point. It was absolute chaos as we tried to organise 38 kids with their ice-skates and laces. One by one the kids made their way onto the ice and one by one the lit up with excitement. The ice was well used and looked pretty cut up so it was probably the skating equivalent to a 4x4 off road experience. The kids didn’t care though, they were having a great time. Steven was on the ice skating round with the kids and both parties seemed to be enjoying themselves. The barriers at the side were getting well used for balance while the kids tried to get used to the ice but one by one they were venturing further onto the ice and trying to master the slippery surface. Once they had there balance sorted it was then time to work on their speed. It was like a competition amongst friends to get round the rink the quickest and it didn’t matter how many times they ended up on their backsides doing it! Steven found himself mobbed by the younger kids as he seemed to be one of the few able to keep on his feet. He was like a moving barrier to them, and you could here the gleeful cries of “Steven, Steven ..” as they latched on to him for help going round the rink. There were kids flying around everywhere, with collisions and piles of laughing kids all over the place. I can only imagine at what the regulars thought of what was going on, definitely not your normal day at the rink that’s for sure. A lot of the kids also seemed to be making new friends on the ice, especially the older ones who seemed to be spending a bit of time on the barriers chatting away towards the end of the session.

I’m sorry to report that Steven never fell over once! Once the skating was over, the kids headed back to Odinkovka, but only after making us promise that we had to visit them again before we left. We headed back to Pam’s before meeting back up Mike and Ira for another visit to “Rancho Pancho”. It was an opportunity to discuss how things had progressed since the last visit and also to discuss ideas and plans for the coming months.

Unfortunately though we received some sad news. Mike informed us he may not be around on the next visit as he and his family would be returning to the States for a while. Even during my short time in Dnipropetrovsk I could see that Mike and his family would be deeply missed, not only by the people in the Ukraine, but everyone associated with the Dnipro Appeal trips. Heartfelt thanks go out to the man who helped to get the Dnipro Appeal up and running.

Tuesday 8th January 2008

As promised, we paid one last visit to the kids at Odinkovka – but not before a quick visit to the Metro! Armed with sweets and some clap-sticks we arrive and hand the supplies out. It doesn’t take the kids too long to get the clap-sticks blown up and with a little help from Steven the noise started. The Assistant Director was not impressed. One set of clap-sticks is bad enough. Imagine 30-odd pairs being smashed together at the same time. It didn’t stop them getting used as swords though. Cue much chasing around the rooms!

Sadly it was time to leave and as we say our goodbyes to the kids we’re followed to the front door with lots of shaking of hands from the older kids and waving from the younger ones.

On the way back to the apartment, we stopped at the river. As to be expected it was completely frozen solid. What I didn’t expect to see were dozens and dozens of people ice fishing in the middle of the river. We ventured onto the ice for a few photos then headed back to the apartment, collected the luggage (much lighter this time) and headed to the train station. A quick bite to eat and it was a sad farewell to Ira and Natasha at the station. Armed with email addresses and promises to swap photographs we boarded the train. Steven had one more surprise for me. Cribbage! Once he’d eventually taught me the rules for this complicated card game it seemed like half the journey was already over, it helped pass the time on the train. We get into Kiev pretty late at night so it’s into a taxi and straight to the hotel. With so many taxi drivers trying to overcharge you for the short trip from the train station to the hotel we were lucky enough to find one that gave a reasonable price for the trip without the haggling. Steven, with his limited Russian, manages to strike up a conversation with Yuri (the taxi driver) and manages to organise for him to collect us at the hotel the next morning for the trip to the airport.

Wednesday 9th January 2008

The flight back doesn’t leave until early afternoon so we have a little bit of spare time in Kiev. The hotel is right in the middle of Kiev, on Independence Square, so we don’t have far to go to take in some of the sights. After a short wander round we head back to the hotel to check out. Yuri, the taxi driver, is bang on time so we start the first leg of our return journey and head off to the airport. We manage to get checked in and through passport control fairly quickly only to discover the flight is delayed.

The flight was delayed about an hour in Kiev, which meant we missed our connection in Frankfurt. An additional 5 hours in Frankfurt airport to look forward to, although €20 worth of food voucher provided as compensation so we wouldn’t go hungry. The downside was you never received any change from the voucher so it was only good for one trip to the food court. It’s amazing how much McDonalds food €20 will actually get you, certainly more than we could imagine eating in one go. Tiredness was setting in and we were both starting to flag a bit, which was no more apparent than when Steven tried ordering his food speaking Russian! He soon realised his mistake and tried to back-track quickly whilst trying to avoid the puzzled look he was getting.

The 5 hours seemed like an eternity but eventually we were on the flight back to Edinburgh and heading home at the end of a very tiring, but extremely rewarding trip.

There is only so much that you can get from reading a trip report, looking at pictures or watching short clips. Until I was actually there I didn’t fully appreciate the difference that can be made. Not just to the furniture and fixings of the buildings, or the footwear and clothing provided, but with something as simple as a letter and a photograph you can see that it means the world to the children.

It doesn’t take much to help. On the Saturday morning before the Inverness Caley Thistle game, I jumped on an earlier train from Dundee. It took less than an hour out of my normal routine to head up to the Lauriston Building to give blood. Why? Because I can! It just shows you that it really doesn’t take much to make a big difference in life – what might seem small and inconsequential I have seen can mean the world of difference to someone else.

Article By Jonathan Christie

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