In January, 18 young people from Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine saw firsthand a distant country with which they have long been friends. Our republic was represented by 6 people from Braslav, Postavy, Minsk, and Dzerzhinsk. The delegation of Belarusians was led by Maya Doronina, a teacher from Braslav Gymnasium.
The unforgettable journey began in the city of Reno, Nevada. The program of the visit was designed so that children could get to know the country and relax at the same time. Specialists from Harvard University conducted leadership training and games with them, organized group work, and paid a lot of attention to communication, which contributed to faster language acquisition, and the exchange of information about their countries, culture, and traditions. Participants also visited a local school and compared how American education differs from Belarusian education, and what children do in their free time.
— The visit consisted of three stages. At the recreation center, we met interesting people, made contacts, and now, we hope, we will create joint
projects on environmental topics. The children improved their language skills and demonstrated their abilities," says Maya Doronina.
During the second stage, the project participants and their supervisors lived with families in the cities of Kansas City and Louisville. This allowed them to get to know the lifestyle and culture of Americans even closer. One group of students attended classes in schools where they talked about their homeland, and also visited an animal shelter, city museums, tasted food from different nations, and treated others to national dishes from their own countries. In addition, the young men and women visited organizations that introduce people from different parts of the world and help people with disabilities. For several days, our schoolchildren engaged in charitable activities – distributing food to the hungry and sorting food products at a special center.
At the same time, the second group in Louisville also traveled, participated in classes and seminars, and visited various institutions, schools for girls, and refugee centers.
On the last day of the trip across the USA, Washington awaited the delegation. The program here was also packed. The youth attended a basketball game and got acquainted with famousplaces in the city, met with interns from Brazil. The schoolchildren presented
their projects. Braslav residents, for example, spoke about their intention to create an American
club at their gymnasium.
11th-grade students Darya Girsa and Arina Tsevulovich shared their impressions with pleasure:
— In the USA, we did volunteer work, and also learned in leadership classes to reveal our abilities and be a team. We hope to implement much of what we learned at our gymnasium.
Tamara Pashkevich, “Vitebskiye Vesti”.