Meet the children of Camp Lighthouse: Anna from Kharkiv

Come be my friend. They call me Anna. In my passport, it is written as Hanna, but no one pronounces the H. So, call me Anna. Or if you prefer in English, call me Ann.

I am ten years old and I live in the Kharkiv region.

This is my first time at a summer camp. Honestly, I didn’t know what to expect, and it’s amazing.

School is all around

I am in sixth grade now. Most of my fifth grade was online because of the war.

My favourite subject is maths. People ask me: “How can you like maths?” I say: “I don’t know, I just do.” Finishing a maths task is like there is a present waiting for you at the end. And yes, I am very good at maths.

Yes, my English is good too, thank you very much. I learned English at school and from tutors. Also, online games helped a lot. There’s a game in Roblox where you create your own family. This game taught me so many English words.

Also, I learn English on TikTok, Pinterest, and some Telegram channels. Telegram is really interesting. There are so many channels to find something to watch.

I also speak a little German because I went there when the war started. But at the beginning in Germany, I spoke English because I didn’t know Deutsch so well.

The Gourmet Camper

When my mum sent my application for the camp, I was worried about many things. Most of all, I was worried about the food because I like to eat. And I mean really, I really like to eat.

I like both savoury and sweet food. My favourite food is my mum’s… what’s the word… They’re like pancakes, but thinner. In Ukrainian, we call them blinchiki. My mum makes the best blinchiki in the world!

We came here to the camp in Gorbok on Sunday. I came by train to Mukachevo station with my mum. There, I met the camp counsellors and other children. Then my mum went back home, and we all went to the camp.

The first meal was dinner on Sunday evening. We had meat and grechka. The meat was very tasty and soft. It disappeared fast like melting ice. The grechka was very nice too. Another word for grechka is kasha. I don’t know the English word for the plant that you can make grechka with. [Author’s remark: Grechka is buckwheat porridge.]

Among Us

I like to play games on my mobile phone. My favourite is Brawl Stars, and I also dabble in Roblox.

In real life, I like the games here at camp. We play many games. They might be different from the games played in other countries.

We have one game we call… hmmm. What’s that thing that lights red, yellow, and green? Yes, traffic light! The game is traffic light. It goes like this: The captain says a colour, and the players have to find that colour somewhere around them, like on their or someone’s clothes, in nature, etc. Then, those who don’t find the colour have to catch the ones who did find the colour.

Games are a good way to make friends. I like to be friendly and am friendly with everyone I know and don’t know. Like my friend Eva here. I was friendly to her from the first moment, and she said: “OMG, you are so cool, no one liked me so much from the start.”

We are in the same room. The first night, we spoke for a long time, and we found mutual interests. Eva is also from Kharkiv, but we didn’t know each other before camp. When camp ends, I know we will stay friends. [Eva nods in agreement]

Be more friendly and kind

We, people from Kharkiv, are very strong. There can be explosions in front of us once, but the second time it will be nowhere near us.

When I grow up, I will be a journalist. In some school subjects, we have a chance to be creative, and I always think: “What more can I say about this ?” I enjoy that a lot.

Well, I have to go to an activity now. Hm, what’s my wish for all children?