The camp was pitched right in the forest by the sea: canvas tents, a fire pit in the middle of the clearing, wooden benches in a circle. The Bucha dzhury — participants of the nationwide Ukrainian youth game "Sokil" — lived there alongside Polish scouts on a shared timetable, with no division into guests and hosts.
Bucha City Council reported on the results of the session, publishing a photo story on its Telegram channel. The Ukrainian children were hosted by Polish scouts with the support of the mayor of Katowice.
A camp the children built with their own hands
The daily routine involved more than rest. The scouts set up the camp, carried firewood, took turns in the kitchen and were responsible for order in their own section. This is a basic scouting method: children learn teamwork through actual work rather than through lectures about it.
A sports and creative programme ran in parallel — contests, workshops, evening gatherings by the fire. The language barrier melted faster than the adults expected: the teenagers found a common tongue within days and then began translating for one another themselves.
A Ukraine Day the children prepared themselves
Ukraine Day was a separate highlight of the session. The Bucha scouts presented Ukrainian culture to their Polish friends: folk traditions, songs and dances. Every Polish participant received a symbolic souvenir made by the Ukrainian children.
This format — where children become the narrators of their own country rather than the audience — has long been practised at scout camps. For teenagers from a community that lived through occupation, it is also a chance to speak about Ukraine through something other than the war.
Krynica Morska, Frombork and a planetarium
Besides the camp programme, the children visited the resort of Krynica Morska on the Vistula Spit and Frombork — the town where Nicolaus Copernicus lived and worked. A session at the planetarium was held for them there. A boat trip along the coast was another item on the list.
The city council thanked the mayor of Katowice, the Polish scouts and the camp organisers for the welcome. For many Bucha children these were the first holidays in years during which they did not have to listen out for the air raid siren every night.
Nota bene
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