TO after a year, for Natalia Rozmaita it is still very painful to remember the first day of the Russian invasion: «Everything is before our eyes and will always be: the tanks in the streets, the soldiers who took over our homes, the bombings, the asylum hit three times» says to iO Woman. The Rainbow kindergarten in Bucha, the martyred city of Ukraine, is her second home, the children are “her” children, and she loves them with all of herself: «My belief in life», she says, «is to go forward with confidence and creativity, give your heart to children with love».
The work of the Italian street artist Tvboy created on the wall of the kindergarten in Bucha, in Ukraine, reconstructed by Cesvi.
Natalia has been the principal of the Bucha kindergarten for 30 years: half an hour’s drive from Kiev, she was among the first targeted by the Russians when the invasion began on 24 February 2022. In early April, the occupiers have left and withdrawn; the Ukrainians found incinerated tanks, bomb craters and mass graves in the church garden. Who can forget those images? But the reconstruction began immediately. The Ukrainians have strongly wanted to restart their lives, even if halved, without indecision: «They never ask themselves “if we will win”, but “when will we win”, and this very strong motivation keeps them going» says Filippo Scotti, who has been in Bucha since September.
Scotti is project manager of Cesvi, the foundation from Bergamo which arrived in Bucha as early as last April and, among other interventions, dealt with the restoration of the Arcobaleno kindergarten near the city. Natalia Rozmaita is happy: the destroyed kindergarten has been refurbished, the classrooms filled with children’s voices, mums and dads are back to work, life has started again. Trust has never failed, but now hope can be given substance.
In Bucha the wounds of the trauma are also repaired
«When we arrived, we placed ourselves at the mayor’s disposal» says the deputy director of Cesvi Roberto Vignola, «to identify priorities. Among these, the reconstruction of the schools: we wanted to ensure that they start again regularly in September. We focused on the Arcobaleno kindergarten, which required more demanding work, but we also intervened in ten other kindergartens to refurbish children’s rest areas. It was the way to get out of the emergency intervention and start the rebirth ». Bergamo and Bucha have twinned and this has favored relations between local institutions.
The garden of the Arcobaleno kindergarten in Bucha, Ukraine, refurbished by Cesvi.
In Bucha the wounds are still evident, and they don’t just concern material damage: «We trained 50 local professionals in PTSD, and we have a mobile unit that moves to the most isolated areas, which are also where the massacres took place» says Vignola. «We help mothers and children who have witnessed violence and executions and first of all they need to recover self-esteem, which is lost in traumatic situations, and then confidence, to face everyday life. But it must be said that children have an incredible ability to adapt, and even in the most dramatic situations they know how to give you a smile».
Filippo Scotti has been in Bucha since September. He says that there is a great desire for normality, the shops are open and the curfew is only at night. «There is so much solidarity and a sense of responsibility. Everyone wants to play his part ». However, normality is relative, because almost every day the air raid alarm app sounds on mobile phones and you have to run in the basements. «The children are very good, they go down in five minutes and, down there, they calmly resume the interrupted activities. We have arranged and equipped the underground spaces of the kindergarten precisely for this need».
In Bucha, those who went out did not return
Before the war Bucha had 40,000 inhabitants, with the arrival of the Russians whoever could escaped. Natalia Rozmaita tried to resist with her family, until the situation became untenable: «We didn’t have light, water, bread. We left in mid-March with 150 other cars, at random, without a safety corridor »she recalls. “We were bombed, we passed nine checkpoints but in the end we survived. On April 7, we returned and started repairing the houses. During the occupation 250 people, including 50 children, lived in the basement of the kindergarten Rainbow, no light or heat. Those who went out did not come back. Unfortunately, not everyone managed to achieve it. One of our pupils, Vanya, aged 5, died before our eyes: he was killed by the fragments of a grenade together with his father».
The exterior of the Arcobaleno Kindergarten in Bucha, Ukraine. Together with the Cesvi staff is the principal, Natalia Razmaita, with the purple duvet.
For 250 people, asylum represented salvation, and also for this reason reopening it and returning it to the municipality of Bucha had a strong symbolic value. «Now the activities have resumed in full, we play sports, we draw, we do small jobs with the cards. A few weeks ago the street artist Tvboy came to visit us and left 15 works in Ukraineone right in the Arcobaleno kindergarten in Bucha» continues Filippo Scotti.
In addition to the mobile units for socio-psychological support, and a small financial aid for the most fragile, Cesvi’s activities in this period, in Bucha, focus on heating points: «There are 11 heated tensile structures – we bought generators, wood and pellets – where you can find a hot meal and internet connection» he adds. “They’re always close to public buildings with basements where you can take refuge in the event of an alarm. The emergency now is the cold. Electricity is supposed to go on schedules, but they are not always respected. It snows, the temperature is always below zero. And there is an atmosphere of calm before the storm: we don’t know what will happen».
At Bucha kindergarten, children play peacefully
Meanwhile, at the Arcobaleno kindergarten, the days go on with the greatest possible tranquility. The 56 people on the staff, including 23 educators, look after the 300 children until the afternoon: «We have everything we need, we always make sure that the little ones feel comfortable, that they grow up healthy in a safe environment, that their parents are calm. I love them for their sincere smile, cheerfulness, open mind» says Natalia Razmaita. «We speak of the war very delicately, because everyone has lived through the occupation, someone has suffered a loss. They know we’re at war, they know how to behave during an air raid, what to do if they’re alone at home. If there is an attack we go down to the shelter. Children don’t cry, they aren’t afraid. They keep playing. In any case, there is always a psychologist with us».
Life goes on, in the cold, with little light, between one alarm and another, between the fear of a possible new attack but also «trust and hope in our Armed Forces and in the help of other countries».
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