2006 marks the eleventh year the Canadian-Ukrainian “Help Us Help the Children” initiative is holding a summer camp for orphans.

Each year, Canadian youth raise funds for the camp and come to work as counselors in the Carpathian Mountains near the village Vorokhta. Ukrainian counselors include former camp participants and orphanage care workers. The children enjoy long days of learning and fun – beginning with raising the national flag in the morning and ending with songs around the campfire - or special concerts. Guest speakers come to talk about family management, realities of working abroad, drug and alcohol awareness and other similar topics. Campers also participate in activities such as yoga and hiking. This year, in cooperation with the Ministry of Family Affairs, they have invited children from regular family environments to help integrate orphans into mainstream society. There are about 400 children from 29 orphanages all over Ukraine attending the camp.