Young athletes from Bucha and Irpin paid tribute to the victims of terror during the international competitions in Cyprus
2023-02-08 13:35
Children from the affected regions of Ukraine – participants of the international Olympic Dreams sports camps, the wards of the Charitable Foundation "The Future for Children'', paid their respects to the victims of russian terror at the Ukrainian memorial "Anchor Heart", which was brought from Odesa to Larnaca (Cyprus).
The international project of Olympic Dreams sports camps in Cyprus, where young athletes from the affected regions of Ukraine were allowed to train in safe conditions systematically, has been going on for over a month. This format of the Olympic Dreams sports camps was launched by "The Future for Children" Foundation in 2022 in Greece and is now being successfully implemented in several safe countries so far.
"The war touched almost every home of the group of young athletes. Our sports halls in Irpen, Bucha and Gostomel were damaged, in conditions of daily shelling and constant air raids, it is almost impossible to organize the training process. However, the Olympic Dreams sports camps made it possible to save the sports team that is part of the Ukrainian national judo team because there is no place for a break in sports. If you don't train for at least a week, you have already lost at international competitions," said the Honored Coach of Ukraine, Karen Balayan.
A group of judo athletes from Bucha, Irpen, Gostomel, Donetsk, and Luhansk has resumed training on Cyprus's coast, maintains a sports front, and continues to prepare and represent the honour of Ukraine at international tournaments.
"The main goal of the Olympic Dreams camps is to support Ukrainian athletes, to improve their health, as well as to provide them with a sustainable training process and gain international sports experience for Ukraine's future victories in the world arenas," Anatoly Boyko, patron of the Charitable Foundation "The Future for Children", said.
This project became possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Youth and Sports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Republic of Cyprus and personally Ruslan Nimchynskyi - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Cyprus, the NOC of Ukraine, the Judo Federation of Ukraine, the partner Foundation "KEPAKY" and other partners, and patrons.
We will remind you that last year more than 100 young athletes within the framework of the Olympic Dreams project had the opportunity to train safely in Greece for three months, thanks to which Ukraine won several medals at international tournaments. In 2023 the wards of the Charitable Foundation Future for Children have won 30 more medals of different types which add to 17 medals won by them in 2022.
For reference: Before the war, the Future for Children Foundation took care of children in the boarding school at the Nyzhnebystrovska Gymnasium. With the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, a shelter for internally displaced people was created on the territory of the gymnasium.
To date, the Foundation's team has already supported more than 500 mentees (children of the gymnasium and IDP families with children), and the number is constantly growing.
Since 2022, the Foundation has been developing the project of international sports camps "Olympic Dreams", the main purpose of which is to support Ukrainian athletes, their recovery, as well as ensuring their sustainable training process and gaining international sports experience for the future victories of Ukraine on world arenas. The 2022 report is on the Foundation's website.