Pizza and ice cream give little Ukrainians a smile

A heart-warming evening was organized by the Ark volunteer group with 21 refugee children left alone

STRAMBINO

Welcome, generosity, solidarity commitment, human warmth, are the main ingredients of the evening that the group of volunteers from the Ark of Strambino, born at the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, gave to a group of 21 small Ukrainian orphans from 6 to 16 years old, guests for about a month at the Oratory of Castellamonte, and others who fled their invaded country and were welcomed to our territory. The young guests, removed from their orphanage in the occupied city of Mariupol destroyed by the bombs, accompanied by the director Oxana Zavadska and three assistants, were welcomed and celebrated in Strambino in the courtyard of the Cappello Verde restaurant with pizza, drinks, ice cream and desserts, prepared by the women of the Arca association, and above all as gifts for everyone such as soft toys, games and colorful and personalized t-shirts with the word Ark of peace. A carefree evening for the little, beautiful boys and girls, including 7-year-old Luba, 11-year-old Elena, 8-year-old Bogdan, 7-year-old Bogdan, who met 14-year-old Leonardo (who became the evening’s interpreter) in Strambino Kiev, a guest for over three months with his parents in Castagneto Po, who had to leave their elderly parents alone in the capital, in serious difficulty, with a pension of 100 euros per month.

The group of Strambinesi, who have been committed to supporting Ukrainian refugees since the early days of the Russian invasion, have given children a pleasant interlude of celebration and serenity, far from the fear and noise of the Russian bombs and missiles they have repeatedly heard in Mariupol. But those children already know that unfortunately they will have to leave Italy soon; in fact, on 21 August they will leave for their tormented country, but instead of returning to their Mariupol, destroyed and occupied by the Russian invaders, they will be accompanied to the apparently quieter town of Zakarpacie, near the border with Poland and that, which now the Ukrainians aspire to be able to join soon, of Europe. –