“A Person Should Live With a Purpose and Share It”: 15-Year-Old Ivan From Mariupol Became a Participant in the Session of the Blogger Camp From the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation

Ivan Zhelieznyi from Mariupol is 15 years old. The boy has been practising dancing since childhood and dreamed of performing on the best stages in the world. In February 2022, he was preparing for a dance competition in Europe. The stage costume burned down along with his family’s flat... Ivan has not danced since then. After what he lived through, he still was able to overcome the pathway to safety. Recently, the teenager became a participant in the session of the Blogger Camp organized in Zakarpattia by the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.

We would like to remind you that 22 September is the deadline to apply for the autumn session, which will last ten days, starting from 20 October. The participants of the project Rinat Akhmetov for Children. Peaceful Rest for Children of Ukraine can be children from 8 to 15 years old who suffered from the war in Ukraine. Namely:

— children who were illegally deported to Russia and then returned to Ukraine
— children who lost their parents during the war
— girls and boys from adoptive families and family-type orphanages, children under guardianship and adopted children
— children living in the areas of active armed hostilities
— those who suffered because of the armed hostilities.

You can register in one of the two ways:
— by phone, calling the Foundation’s toll-free hotline 0 800 509 001 (the line operates from Monday to Friday) or
 — online at the link: https://akhmetovfoundation.org/rinat-ahmetov-dityam/project/rinat-ahmetov-dityam-myrnyy-vidpochynok-dityam-ukrainy

“I want to give this interview so that no one ever forgets about what the Russians did. I do not want it to be forgiven. I can say with a hundred percent certainty that I will never forgive anyone for this,” says Ivan in a conversation with Oleksiy Sukhanov, TV presenter, actor, and the ambassador of the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation.

In Mariupol engulfed in fire, Ivan’s mother, a nurse, helped people in the basement, while his father delivered food and water under shelling. His friend died, and his grandfather is still under occupation outside the city. On the way from Mariupol, their family had to drive and walk through a minefield. At a certain moment, Ivan stepped on a shiny object. This was the scariest moment of his life. He thought those might be his last seconds. He waited for his parents to walk by forward and only then he took the next step...

“I think that the main thing that many children have been deprived of – and not only children from Mariupol – is their childhood. They have been deprived of everything at once,” Ivan says.

He sees Mariupol in his dreams. Ivan hopes that one day he will be able to return there. He also dreams of taking up dancing again and teaching others. After all, the boy is sure that a person should live with a purpose and share it.

You can watch and listen to Ivan’s story in the Museum of Civilian Voices of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation — https://civilvoicesmuseum.org/stories/oleksij-suhanov-ce-istoriya-15-richnogo-ivana-z-mariupolya

Oleksiy Sukhanov met Ivan at the camp in Zakarpattia during a session of the Blogger Camp from the Foundation. The children who are there not only learn the skills of a blogger, but also work with experienced psychologists. Almost 5,000 children from all over Ukraine have received such rest and health recovery opportunity.