Honey, procedures, excursions. 39 children from Kherson region undergo health improvement in Smorgon district

25 March, MINSK . A group of children and accompanying adults from the Kherson region, mostly evacuated from the areas currently under shelling, arrived at the Minsk railway station on the evening of 14 March. More than 10 days of rest and recuperation are already behind them. BELTA correspondents visited the Lesnaya Polyana children's rehabilitation and HEALTH centre in Smorgon district and found out how the young guests are relaxing and where they have already been.

Milana Abdullaeva is 8 years old and from Kherson. According to the girl, when the shooting started, her family, though not all of them, were forced to move to Anapa. Milana's father stayed in the SVO to "jump out of a plane". "I didn't see the shooting, but I heard the shells flying. One day, my mother was cooking me dinner and we heard two explosions very close to our house, the windows shook, almost broke. We went outside and saw smoke - a shell hit a house not far from ours. And every day there were planes flying in the sky. it was very scary. That's why we left Kherson," said the third-grader.
Rest should help to forget all this or at least switch off. The children's rehabilitation and health center has a rich program focused on health , sports , creativity, and entertainment. For example, the children have already visited a bee farm, the M.K. Oginsky Museum-Estate, and went to a concert at Secondary School No. 7 in Smorgon. "They didn't show us the bees because they can sting. But they told us a lot about them. We especially liked the pancakes with honey, they were very tasty. We also tried Belarusian ice cream,"Curd , MILK - very tasty. In general, I like it here, I will come here again someday," Milana shared.

Honey also impressed seventh-grader Yaroslav Kazantsev from Kherson the most. The young man is temporarily living with his family in Genichesk during the evacuation, then he plans to move to Krasnodar, where his parents have already bought a house. "When I was offered to go on vacation to a sanatorium, I was very glad that I was going to Belarus - one of the most hospitable countries. Everyone said that the people here are kind. And it is also warm and the air is fresh. In our Kherson region, there are only fields, forests are mostly planted, and here such nature, it takes your breath away. And how delicious the food is here, the main advantage is that the food is balanced. True, they add APPLE to all the salads - this is something new for me, unusual. I have a lot of fun here, every day we have something new. We went to a bee farm and tried honey there. "We were even given a jar to take with us, it is gone now, the honey was very tasty, it had no chance to last longer," the schoolboy assures.

Positive emotions are extremely important for him now, so that they can displace memories that are difficult for a child's psyche. "I realized that something terrible had begun when I saw two columns of tanks and combat vehicles driving down my street. Then five shells flew at my house. It was scary, especially the sound when you are sitting in the hallway, and then it lands. At first, we, a large group of children from Kherson, were taken to a camp in Crimea, they said that for a maximum of two weeks. But this did not happen, and my parents and I left the camp for Krasnodar Krai. "We lived there for about six months, and then we moved to Genichesk, also for a while," Yaroslav said.
Tenth-grader Evgeniya Levenets came from Genichesk to rest, she says that when it all started, the city was taken on the very first day, so the shelling lasted only one day. "Now, we can say that it is a peaceful city, it is just located in the rear. Many refugees from Kakhovka, from the same Kherson, came to us," Evgeniya says. - This trip and rest are very important for me, it is so interesting to learn about the culture of Belarus, you can get to know its good-natured people, the hospitality of Belarusians is boundless. I was convinced of this. Most of all I liked the trip to the Oginsky estate, as well as to the bees. Both excursions left different impressions, but equally exciting. We go to the center for procedures every day, except for weekends. Very interesting events are held in our building, you can participate in any of them. They feed here, in my opinion, too much and too tasty. And in the evenings you can choose where to go: either to a disco or to the gym."

The importance of rest is also mentioned by the teachers accompanying the children. The leader of the group of Kherson schoolchildren is Irina Evtyukhova. She brought 39 children aged 8 to 16 to Belarus. "Most of the children are evacuees, they left Kherson in October-November 2022. Now some live in Genichesk, some in Crimea, some in the Krasnodar Territory, some children are from Genichesk itself. They all live with their families, with their parents. Under the evacuation program, residents of the right bank and partly the left bank were provided with housing certificates, and their parents have already bought apartments and are building a new life. Much attention is paid to the rest and health improvement of children in the Kherson region, because the children really experienced difficult moments for the child's psyche. Yes, we did not see shots and explosions up close, but it was all very audible, and rockets flew above us, and we went down to bomb shelters, and applied the "two walls" rule. All this goes deep into the memory, it all remains. Therefore, any rest is good for children," she emphasized.

The group leader admitted that out of the entire excursion program, she liked the croissants made according to the signature recipe the most. "At the Oginsky Museum-Estate, after the theatrical excursion, we were treated to croissants, I have never eaten such delicious ones anywhere else. The children were delighted with Oginsky's music, they got acquainted with his life and work, learned that he was a very versatile person - he was not only a composer, but also a statesman. At school No. 7 in Smorgon, we met its students, teachers, watched a concert, and then we were given gifts - sports equipment," shared Irina Evtyukhova.

Every day is something new. Monday became Red Cross Day at the sanatorium. The event was attended by the Secretary General of the Belarusian Red Cross Dmitry Shevtsov and the team of the Grodno regional organization of the BRC. "Children from the Kherson region came to us in Belarus, the geography of the territories from which people come to us for health improvement is expanding, this is very cool. We wanted to arrange a holiday of peace, tranquility and love for our guests. The program includes mini-quests, five sites were organized where the children were able to learn more about the areas of activity of the Belarusian Red Cross: first aid, emergency response, volunteer development, psychosocial support, and healthy lifestyle. There was also a badminton master class for children. Yes, we decided to be creative. Badminton ishealthy lifestyle , a very active game for all ages, and most importantly - a good cardio load. Maybe someone today will become professionally interested in it, some children have great potential. We want to show children Belarus through games, communication, love, so that they can see with their own eyes how green, calm, peaceful, and friendly it is. The most important task is for children to be imbued with love, so that they understand that childhood exists, and that we should strive for it. Well, we, adults, will do our best to give them the holiday of childhood," said Dmitry Shevtsov.  
No one was left without gifts, the children were given sports uniforms.

Svetlana PEKAR, photo by Tatyana Matusevich
BELTA.