#20_1-8

8
No.20 MARCH 29, 2018
TIMEO U T
WWW.DAY.KIEV.UA
“These pictures arouse hope for recovery”
St. Sophia
of Kyiv hosts
a major
charitable
project to
help cancerstricken
children
By Olha KHARCHENKO, The Day
By Maria PROKOPENKO,
photos by Artem SLIPACHUK, The Day
“A
s the war began, we moved
from Horlivka in the ATO zone
to Brovary. Little by little, we
settled down, but suddenly
everything changed – doctors
diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia in
our son Kyrylo. He’s undergoing treatment
now. Fortunately, it is successful, as
planned,” Oleksii MARUNEVYCH says.
We talked with Oleksii at the exhibit
“What Is Essential Is Invisible to the Eye,” now
being held in the Metropolitan’s House of the
National Sanctuary “St. Sophia of Kyiv.”
This charitable art project displays works by
Kyrylo and seven other children who receive
treatment at the cancer division of the Kyiv
Oblast Clinical Hospital. All the drawings can
be bought, and these funds will be used to help
little patients. The project was organized by
a branch of the international charitable organization
Lions Club “Kiev Ecology.”
● “THE OBJECTIVE OF ART
THERAPY IS TO SHOW THAT
LIFE IS GOING ON”
Artist Kateryna SAPOZHKOVA applies
art therapy to cancer-stricken children at the
hospital. “I have long wanted to help canceraffected
children but didn’t know how to do
it well,” Kateryna recalls. “First I donated
blood, handed over some money, and then,
more than ten years ago, I asked donor.org.ua
webmaster Sashko Brusylovskyi what else I
could do. When he came to know that I am an
artist, he said children badly needed art
therapy. The treatment lasts at least nine
months, and kids are almost completely isolated
during this time. Since then, we’ve been
having classes in the playroom.”
Art therapy helps a child express his or
her emotions through drawing and thus establish
a link with the outside world. “As a
rule, a child gets to the cancer ward suddenly.
Both parent and the child are shocked.
Then the family divides – only one of the parents
stands by the child all the time. The child
remains withdrawn from his milieu, undergoes
painful procedures for a long time, and
often retreats into his shell. The objective of
art therapy is to show that life is going on and
recovery is possible,” Kateryna explains.
“Incidentally, Ania Bezkorovaina and Olia
Tkachenko, the girls who take part in the exhibit,
are in remission now.”
● “A BRIDGE BETWEEN CHILD
AND PARENTS”
Parents often draw together with the
child, and the artist calls these joint classes a
bridge between them. During the classes,
Kateryna tells children about artists and art
styles. They are always trying out new materials.
The first pictures of the cancer patients
are dreary, but then the themes become
more cheerful. The pictures displayed at
St. Sophia of Kyiv are colorful; they often depict
flowers, cute animals, and serene land-
Pryluky: a new meeting
of donating books from Den’s Library to
the city. All schools and libraries of Pryluky
will receive their copies of The Crown...
this year!
Deputy mayor Tetiana Fesenko noted
the importance of Den’s campaign to popularize
precisely printed word in a time
when many people are attracted to social
networks. She also recalled: “Pryluky residents
were astounded by the photos on disesting
for Pryluky residents to talk with
Ivan Kapsamun, a journalist of Den. That
dialog was clearly of mutual interest,”
Rylach continued to share his impressions,
and added: “Besides, a portion of the
display will be hosted on our company’s
premises. You see, British American Tobacco
Ukraine marks its 25th anniversary
this year. The anniversary falls exactly
on the date when Den’s Days in Pryluky are
to begin. Therefore, we decided to additionally
congratulate our employees
through the photo exhibition of Den.”
By the way, our partner, who understands
what corporate social responsibility
is, has decided to keep up the tradition
Den’s Days will start in
the ancient city on the
Udai River on March 29
Photo by Ruslan KANIUKA, The Day
scapes. Kateryna says children draw the
places they would like to visit as well as their
life after recovery.
Kyrylo Marunevych, who turned five in
January, depicted a lighthouse amidst the sea
on several pictures. Oleksii Marunevych confesses
that art therapy has stirred up more
good emotions in his son, which is no less important
than medicines. “Drawing is a powerful
positive stimulus. Bedsides, this encourages
his mum who stays at the hospital
with Kyrylo,” Oleksii adds.
One can also see the way classes are held
in the playroom of the children’s cancer division.
Next to the drawings is Oleh
Herasymets’ photo project “The Room,” a series
of pictures about this special space.
● A BENEFACTOR WITH
40-YEAR EXPERIENCE
As amatter of fact, Kateryna regularlyorganizes
exhibits of cancer-stricken children. It
is usually small expositions on the hospital’s
premises. The art project at St. Sophia of
Kyiv is bigger – it involves people from various
countries. The idea emerged spontaneously
during a conversation between Lions Club
“Kiev Ecology” vice-president Tetiana Vasylieva
and the artist.
But the initiative in fact began with the
foundation of Lions Club “Kiev Ecology”
about seven years ago. “In general, Lions Club
is an international charitable organization
that addresses not only ecological, but also socio-cultural
problems, and the Kyiv branch is
the 10th in Ukraine,” says Jean ROCHE, President
of Lions Club “Kiev Ecology,” Knight
of the Legion of Honor. “In France, the organization
helps vulnerable communities.
For example, it buys walking sticks for the
elderly. In Ukraine, it id called ecological, but
we are to protect not only the environment but
also the people who live in this environment.
For instance, the club helps orphans in Kyiv.”
Almost at the very outset, the Kyiv
branch of Lions Club began to help the children’s
cancer division of the oblast hospital.
But, earlier, this occurred once a year, when
the organization raised the funds which the
hospital used for buying reagents and medicines.
This money was enough to meet a
Pryluky are waiting for us again.
Let us recall that Den came to
know that millennium-old city
firsthand in 2004, but our
relationship has grown more
active over recent years. Den’s Days in
Pryluky of 2017 are still remembered by
the locals.
“We received a lot of good reviews
about last year’s event. I have heard good
things about it both from the workers of
the tobacco factory and from other locals,
including municipal officials, with
whom I have had occasion to talk. All the
photos of Den were highly appreciated.
So if we already have a certain tradition,
we will build on it! This year, we have
been able to support this valuable project
as well,” head of the government relations
department at British American
Tobacco Ukraine Yurii Rylach told Den.
It is with the support of British American
Tobacco Ukraine and the Pryluky
City Council that this year’s events of
our newspaper will be held in the city.
The exhibition of the best photos of
the 19th Den’s International Photo Contest-2017
will open at the Pryluky City
House of Culture at noon on March 29.
As part of the event, our newest historical
bestseller The Crown, or Heritage of
the Rus’ Kingdom will be launched with
the participation of the editorial team.
“Last year I was most impressed by
the large number of visitors at the opening
of the exhibition, because it was a
weekday. I honestly did not expect to see
so many people, and they were sincerely
interested in the event to boot. I
know that it was important and interplay,
because they were extremely sincere
and frank. No one left the exhibition
in apathetic mood! In particular, I heard
testimonies of ATO veterans last year,
who also visited the exhibition. They
were struck especially strongly, even unsettled,
by the pictures related to the
events in the ATO area.”
Director of the Maslov Pryluky Local
History Museum Tetiana Zots is also
convinced that Den’s photo exhibition
provides a multi-dimensional, diverse,
multi-age all-Ukrainian measure of the
events of the year. “Contemplating this
exhibition, you feel the reflection of
events in the field of culture, education,
medicine, sports... the life of the country
in its entirety. These are different
masters, different territories and their
views come from different parts of
Ukraine. Something is reflected with
irony, something is tragic, something is
sad, but there is also fun, there is humor,
joy, success. That is, it is things that
have long pained people or caused some
other emotions that have come to be photographed.
Den’s photo exhibition shows
the life of Ukraine for a year.”
“I will speak on behalf of the cultural
and artistic community of the city as
well,” said Fesenko, and addressed another
aspect of the event. “It was also an
opportunity for a healthy analysis and a
new look at one’s own work. Certainly,
artists were inspired by individual compositions,
because it is always an impetus
for thinking and creating something
of one’s own.” Also, Fesenko admitted:
Den’s event was a model of
holding such events for municipal officials
in the provinces, where they are
sometimes too “formalized.”
Read more on our website
month’s need in medicines. On the last New
Year eve, Jean Roche visited the hospital and
saw that the requirement in this help was
much greater. So the benefactors decided to
do something of a larger scale and hit upon the
idea of an exhibit. “A cancer-stricken child is
stressed out. But his pictures arouse a hope
for recovery,” the Lions Club “Kiev Ecology”
president says.
Jean Roche himself has been in charity
for over 40 years. It all began with participation
in a TV marathon to raise funds to combat
myopathy. This week-long TV marathon
helped raise about 10 million euros.
● “THE HOSPITAL FEELS
HELPLESS WITHOUT
THESE REAGENTS”
“Many selfless people have joined our initiative.
The sense of this project is to show the
ability of children to enjoy life at a difficult
moment of illness,” Hennadii TSIAUK, an organizer
of the art project, a participant in the
second season of the Master Chef culinary
show, emphasizes. “All the children’s pictures
are on sale. There will be a ceremony on
March 30, when we will hand over the raised
money to the doctor.”
Concurrently, a “quiet auction” of
Ukrainian artists’ works is being held. The lion’s
share of the proceeds will also benefit the
children.
Money is being raised to acquire reagents
for the hematological analyzer. “A child in the
cancer ward always performs a lot of tests. It
is especially important to take the count of
blasts in the bone marrow. Tests are done almost
every day so that the doctor can see what
needs to be corrected. The hospital feels
helpless without these reagents,” Kateryna
explains.
The art project is important to children
not only because of raising funds for their
treatment. “This exhibit makes it clear to children
that they are not erased from life,”
Sapozhkova emphasizes. “It happens that
when a bald and masked kid comes out for a
walk, everybody dashes aside from him or her.
There are some country children in the hospital.
Whenever they come home, some of
their peers don’t want to visit them, thinking
that cancer is contagious. But here a child is
an artist, everybody watches his or her exhibit,
and their pictures are bought. It is an
incredible motivation for a healthy life!” Incidentally,
the organizers are so keen on the
project that they want to hold this kind of exhibits
regularly.
The art project “What Is Essential Is Invisible
to the Eye” will remain open at the Metropolitan’s
House until March 31. The organizers
also invite everybody to a classical
music concert, “It Is Only with the Heart that
One Can See Rightly,” to be held on March 30
at the Khlibnia gallery of St. Sophia of Kyiv.
All the ticket sale proceeds will also be used
to help children.
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