For 2006 we have great confidence in the young people of Chernigov, Ukraine, who run the Our Generation youth group and its “departments” including:

• The Anomaly theatre troupe, which performs mostly language-independent physical theatre (which can therefore travel to other countries), using direct story-telling to explain to young people about the causes of HIV and the dangers of drugs.
• “BiT”, a newspaper with local and wide-ranging news and discussion, events listings and opportunities to get involved, plus photography and games.
• A music club, which encompasses teaching, fun “jamming” sessions, and concerts.
• A photography group, which benefits from shared expertise, and the club’s internet connection, plus enjoys day trips.
• English-language lessons, sometimes with support from international volunteers.
• Volunteering at orphanages and other institutions — the very same places to which Aid Convoy delivers its aid!

A big part of our work has been in providing a friendly level of consultancy, together with simple encouragement to these young people. We also notice that having friends and connections from the adult world – and perhaps especially because of the apparent influence of having foreign institutional friends – the group is somewhat protected from certain aspects of officialdom which might otherwise bog them down. This support to “help them to help themselves” is where we will be focussing particularly in 2006.