Teens volunteering to help Ukrainian children who lost parents to war

By Tom Garris

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    MANCHESTER, New Hampshire (WMUR) — A group of teens from New Hampshire are thousands of miles away in an effort to help Ukrainian children impacted by the war with Russia.

“Our goal is just to kind of be the positive, happy, fun people that come in. And I think we’ve done a good job with that,” Kelly McVeigh said Wednesday.

McVeigh and Maeve Rhatigan are rising juniors at Holderness School in Plymouth. They’ve been volunteering with Common Man for Ukraine for a few months and now are spending several days at the nonprofit’s Children of Ukraine Health Retreat in Zakopane, Poland.

“They are here because they have lost a family member,” Rhatigan said. “Normally, their father in the Ukrainian war.”

At the camp, the children receive trauma counseling, offering them a therapeutic respite from the fighting that has lasted more than two years. Hundreds of kids have attended the retreat.

“I am so moved by their willingness to invest emotionally and physically,” said Susan Mathison, co-founder of Common Man for Ukraine, said of the New Hampshire volunteers. “I think we’re building important bridges between countries in the world.”

McVeigh and Rhatigan are spending several days with the kids, playing games, making arts and crafts, and hearing their stories.

The camp was built around communicating through translation apps so volunteers can listen to the children’s experiences.

“One of the younger girls kind of said that it was the first time that she’s in a while, that she’s ever felt like she could rest or not have to be on guard, which was really eye-opening to hear,” McVeigh said.

McVeigh and Rhatigan said that despite the loss, smiles are frequent in the wake of tragedy.

“I know they must be facing a lot on the inside, but their ability to just kind of let themselves still have fun and enjoy their life in these moments,” Rhatigan said

“The amount of hope and love that they have for their country is, like, inspiring to see,” McVeigh added.

Common Man for Ukraine is fundraising to keep the children’s health retreat and food convoys going. Their goal is to raise $250,000 in the next few weeks. Those interested can do so on the nonprofit’s website.

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