Oles Gardzhuk е млад човек от Украйна. журналист, работил в телевизия. от една година е в България и доброволства. помага на Фондация 42. почти всеки ден в последните месеци в сред бежанците на Военна рампа. заедно е с други доброволци като него млади хора от Холандия, Испания и Германия.

Олес е влюбен в българската природа. казва, че Мелник и региона са най-прескасното място на света. харесва сирене, кисело мляко, гюведжета. харесва и хората тук.

реших, че ще е симпатично да си поговорим публично с него и споделям разговорът ни:

How do you like Bulgaria? Tell us some odd or unusual story for your stay here.

It is a precious time for me here. I have met so many nice people. And then I got a thought: why am I always meeting my soul mates during the trips abroad and rarely at my Motherland?! Bulgaria is an amazingly interesting country with a very rich culture and nature – only the delicious food can put a bright smile on someone’s face – but, in my opinion, many people do not really realize and cherish what they have. As about my experience, it has been very different within 10 months I am here. That is why the most freaking story which happened to me in the beginning (when I was a volunteer of another organization) is surviving a week on 26 stotinki. I managed! And now I remember it with a smile, because life is an adventure every day… At the moment my service in Sofia is bright, busy and very interesting. I feel being useful – and this is the most important for me.

How about the Voenna rampa work and the people you met there?
We are going to Voenna rampa due to Red Cross, which we are also volunteering for. Every week there is a group of young people who are going to play with refugee kids. I’ve heard from the colleagues, on the beginnings their parents were afraid of “people in red” and they would take a child away, whenever the volunteers came to play. But now the same parents are bringing a child holding his or her hand because we are putting the smile on the kids’ faces. Usually it is very hard to speak with children because of the language barrier, so we try to show them with the gestures what to do and how to play, try to make them following us. But we never do competitions, because equality is very important in their situation. Less touching games… Some of the children are afraid of touching. But in the end kids are always staying as kids, and even if some of them had been cold in the beginning, in the end their hearts melted. They are smiling and hugging us, running to meet us whenever we are coming to the camp, jumping in our car, not willing to let us go when we are ready to leave the camp. But there is one boy, I want to tell you about. I won’t mention his name, but he is the only teenager (around 15 years old) which is coming to spend time with us. When we are doing really childish things, he is staying on the side and waiting for the games with a ball, for drawing. He has very kind eyes but full of fear and awareness. This guy is always helping us in calming kids down, translating to them what we are trying to say. And for me this help matters so much! Because sometimes you just do not know what to do, when you have children from 2 years up to 12 years old. Everyone should be treated differently. Now many of these children can smile and you would never notice what they have gone through, but in the eyes of this boy I see a lot of sorrow, and I feel sorry for not being able to change it.

Do you feel Bulgarians somehow close to Ukrainians or we have more differences?

We are close! In deed! We are Slavic nations with similar languages, level of hospitality, even with reactions in some situations. Our Ukrainian government is also irresponsible like yours here… But I would like to give a friendly advice for Bulgarians about being a little bit more punctual, faster and organized. If you want me to be honest, these were 3 things which sharpen my eyes on the very beginning of my service.

Which is your favorite place in Bulgaria?

The most impressive trip was to 7 Rila Lakes. This place is just magic. I usually cannot sleep on my back, but there is a huge circle made with stones up on the hill. And I was laying exactly in the center of it, under the sun. I have never had warmer sleep than that one! But my favorite place is Melnik and the villages close by… Over there it happened to me to get the strongest feeling of calmness and willing to stay, out of all the trips I made in Bulgaria.

When you leave Bulgaria you’ll miss …

People.. I am leaving soon actually. Only one month left and I am counting the days backwards already. My mind is playing different scenarios of farewell. But until now I haven’t imagined myself being in the airport, sitting in the plain, etc. This is the biggest challenge for me in the voluntary service program, basically in any exchange program. You meet amazing people which are very close to you in their mindset. You finish your contract. You go. But anyway I am grateful to my fate for bringing these people and an adventure called “Bulgaria” in my life.

на снимките Олес разказва за доброволчеството и красотите на България на учениците от 8-ми клас във 2-ро СОУ София и за журналистическата професия и доброволчеството на студентите 2-ри курс Журналистика в НБУ

три пъти ура от всички ни за Олес!

п.с. с това започвам поредица интервюта с чужденци, избрали да живеят временно или постоянно в България