“I Really Enjoyed the Sessions with the Psychologist”: Twin Sisters from Kharkiv Take Part in the Spring Session of Blogger Camp Organized by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

Sixteen-year-old twins Maryna and Karyna experienced the outbreak of the full-scale war in their hometown of Kharkiv. When the first strikes began landing near their home, the family moved to the suburbs for safety. This spring, the girls became participants in the Blogger Camp session organized by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation. There, they had the opportunity to rest, improve their well-being, receive psychological support, develop blogging skills, and make new friends.

“We gained knowledge, confidence, support, strength, and completed a career guidance course. I really enjoyed our sessions with the psychologist. I received a lot of advice and realized that I can make my dreams come true,” says Maryna.

She practices acrobatics, dancing, and juggling, creates her own performances, and already trains children herself. However, she admits that in 2022 she lost the strength to continue developing her talents. The war took away the girls’ sense of peace, security, and carefree childhood.

“My art teacher left the country because of the war, and I could no longer continue my classes. The war also took many of my friends away — they moved abroad, changed their phone numbers, and we can no longer stay in touch,” Maryna says.

Together with her sister Karyna, she endured numerous attacks and saw Kharkiv engulfed in flames after explosions. On one occasion, the sisters narrowly escaped a missile strike on a park where they had been taking a walk.

“It landed very close to us — we were practically hit by the blast wave. We heard the whistling sound and the explosion, lay down under a bench as we had been taught to do, and then ran to take shelter in the metro. It was very frightening,” Karyna recalls.

Since then, Kharkiv’s metro stations and basements have become not only shelters for the sisters but also places for creativity. Karyna paints peaceful scenes of Kharkiv, and her artwork is displayed at metro stations. Meanwhile, Maryna continues to perform even during air raid alerts — in underground venues and shelters.

“It feels as though our entire life has moved underground now. We attend our circus studio in a basement and perform in underground spaces. All exhibitions and creative events are held in the metro as well. We have our own little vibrant life there,” says Karyna.

Despite the war, Maryna and Karyna see their future only in Ukraine. They believe in victory and continue to bring light to people through art. Their drawings, performances, and training sessions have become a reminder for many residents of Kharkiv: life goes on.

Blogger Camp always offers engaging and diverse activities that help Ukrainian youth believe in their own strength, relax and improve their health outdoors, make new friends, and look confidently toward their own future and the future of their country despite the challenges of today.

Thanks to the program “Rinat Akhmetov - to Children. Peaceful Recreation for the Children of Ukraine,” nearly 5,000 children from different parts of the country have already had the opportunity to regain strength, find hope, and gain new impressions. Over 20 years of its work, the Foundation has provided support to more than 6 million children of Ukraine.