Hanna Karttunen has organized dance lessons for children and young people in Ukraine, among other things. Karttunen and Nikula tell Iltalehti how they have helped the locals in the middle of the war.
Radio host Jone Nikula and a dancer Hanna Karttunen have made several trips to Ukraine during the past spring and summer to help the locals living in the middle of the war.
When they left, Nikula and Karttunen took with them crutches and leg braces as donations, which were delivered to the hospital in Odessa.
During the day, Karttunen taught dance to Ukrainian children and young people in Kyiv and Lviv.
According to Nikula, the war was visible in the everyday life of the locals mainly in the way that the enemy’s defeat situation was updated every morning on the doors of the bars. The windows were taped in case of pressure.
– That I saw many tens of thousands of fallen, I saw many tanks, armored vehicles, Nikula says.
One day, Karttunen and his students got into a bomb shelter in the middle of a dance lesson. The last day of the dance camp was underway in Lviv when the air raid started.
Jone Nikula and Hanna Karttunen have actively helped the victims of the war in Ukraine. Jussi Eskola
The students led Karttunen down to the bomb shelter. In the bomb shelter, they spent about an hour talking and playing video games.
– Their calmness, calmness in that situation was amazing, says Karttunen.
Karttunen says that the young people were more upset by the interruption of their dance lessons. It was gratifying how the students who were next in line gave a moment from their class to the previous dance couple.
– They are so used to it and know that every day – and every day many times they may have to visit a bomb shelter.
The whole Ukraine experience was emotional for Karttus. When Karttunen was teaching, Nikula, according to his own words, tried to stay away from the feet.
– It was quite a nice experience. Ukraine is a damn big country. There are still 36 million inhabitants there at the moment. And if a million men are at the front, it means that the home front is not only busy but also deep, Nikula sums up.
In March, Nikula and Karttunen hosted two Ukrainian women in their home. The women lived in the couple’s home for two weeks.