The people of the Turku Sports Association collected clothes and everyday needs for Andriienko, got an apartment and arranged the rides. “There were no two questions that families would help and the club would help.”
13.4. 19:58 • Updated April 13th. 19:58
Tatyana Andriienko sighs with satisfaction.
– I could not imagine that strangers would do so much for us. We are thankful.
We will meet at the Turku Sports Association’s sports hall in Jumppala. Andriienko and his daughter Sofia13, have walked there a few miles from their apartment.
The people of the club have arranged for them a roof over their heads and really everything else, rides and help with bureaucracy. First, clothes were collected, as the trip, which lasted three days from Ukraine, included only two bags, one for school supplies in Sofia and one for sports camps.
Russia’s brutal attack in late February changed the life of the Ukrainian family. Despite strong drumming, the war came as a surprise and shock.
Andriienko’s home is in Tserkas, a city slightly larger than Tampere, southeast of Kiev, and has not yet been badly hit by the war. Andriienkot first nurtured hopes that the war would soon be over. However, the news got worse by the day, and an escape decision had to be made.
– My husband said we had to leave. We lost our jobs and had no idea when the war would end. Someone had to be safe, even the youngest, so that he could continue his schooling and playing sports, which has been so important to him for seven years, Tatyana Andriienko says.
The Ukrainian Gymnastics Association sent a request for help to clubs to receive Ukrainian gymnasts. Hundreds of clubs across Europe responded to the shout. There are volunteer clubs even further afield: Chile, South Africa, New Zealand.
The address of Sofia and her mother thus became Turku, Finland.
Everyday life has started and Sofiia’s school bench in Turku’s Vasaramäki. Studies in Ukraine also continue at a distance.
A couple of things in school are puzzling – like the fact that no shoes are worn inside.
– My classmates are Russians and Ukrainians. I understand them and it feels nice, Sofiia says.
A large proportion of those fleeing Ukraine are children and young people
The exercises of the aerobics group start in Jumppala. This time, Sofiia exercises a little with the older girls and for school reasons only participates in evening rehearsals.
Sofia has already represented her homeland abroad and therefore wears a blue-yellow outfit from Ukraine. Tatyana Andriienko praises the coaching. There are no signs of strict discipline in Eastern Europe.
Executive director of the Turku Sports Federation Jenni Jeromaa-Alho follow the exercises on the side of the hall.
– Here is the strength and communality of the sports community. There were no two questions that families would help and the club would help. They have been well received. The interns are excited and the girl enjoys doing it, Jeromaa-Alho says.
40,000–80,000 Ukrainians are expected to come to Finland this year. Many of them are children and young people who may need sports.
For example, the Football Association is already preparing for the arrival of the Ukrainians. However, at first it would be more about organizing leisure activities for children and young people fleeing the war, either as their own groups or as part of the club’s action groups.
There may be many interested in the activities of the clubs of the Football Association. The union estimates that “hundreds, possibly even thousands.”
Director of Social Services of the Football Association Timo Huttunen needs the outreach of the state and municipalities.
– In addition, it should be noted that clubs must be able to offer quality activities to their members normally and that the arrival of new groups or participants does not impair the opportunities for those already involved to move and play sports, Huttunen writes in an e-mail reply.
Something is already coming. The Ministry of Education and Culture has allocated 2.2 million euros to regional sports organizations for hobby and summer activities, and from there the money will flow to sports and sports clubs. However, the money is to repair the traces of the corona epidemic.
– But, of course, this package of aid can also be used for Ukrainian children and young people who have come to the country to get involved in the activities of the clubs and get to know Finnish society, Director of the Ministry’s Sports Department Tiina Kivisaari says.