[Cz-L] more about SVIT Ukraine work-camp

I have received from Ms. Julia Myasyshcheva an information sheet which
will be sent to all the volunteers who will participate I the
work-camp. Some of the information contained in this information sheet,
I believe will be interesting to all, or at least to many of you. Here
is part of the information sheet:

       -----------------------------------------------------
>
> UA-SVI 9.1 Jewish Cemetery (Chernivtsi)
> 10/08-24/08
>
>
> Service Civil International (SCI) is a voluntary organisation with
> approx. 40 national branches and groups worldwide. SCI aims are
> promote peace,
> international understanding and solidarity, social justice, sustainable
> development, and respect for the environment. SCI believes that all
> people are
> capable of living together with mutual respect and to solve conflicts without
> recourse to any form of violence.
>
> The roots of Service Civil International go back to the end of World War I
> when Europe had to be reconstructed and the people needed to co-operate again
> in a peaceful way. The first international work camp was organised in 1920 by
> Pierre Ceresole and his friends in Verdun, France. Verdun was a town close to
> the German border which was completely destroyed during the war.
>
> Even though the first experience was not easy, the idea spread quickly. The
> volunteers from this camp wanted to inspire others to work for peace as an
> alternative to military service. The number of volunteers rose quickly and
> they started to call their network “Service Civil International”.
>
> Nowadays the work of SCI is carried out on all the continents and ranges from
> reconstruction work to ecology, from social inclusion to North-South
> solidarity. Every year hundreds of people get inspired by the simple but
> powerful idea which started the first work camp.
>
> Here are some links, where you can easily find more information about SCI:
>
> Ø www.sciint.org <http://www.sciint.org/> (Website of SCI International)
> Ø www.service-civil-international.org
> <http://www.service-civil-international.org/> (Website of the SCI
> International Archives, Bern in Switzerland)
>
> SVIT-Ukraine
> Interregional voluntary organization “SVIT-Ukraine” was established in the
> autumn of 2000 as working group on volunteering, and officially registered in
> November 2005 as local non profit organization, which is created for
> promotion, support and development of volunteering in Ukraine. Since
> 2004 SVIT
> is Ukrainian group of SCI.
>
> “SVIT-Ukraine” is building its work on the principles of self-governance,
> openness, legality, transparency, democracy, activism and creative initiative
> of its members, cooperation with state bodies, local authorities and public
> organizations in Ukraine and abroad, and tolerance.
>
> The organization is active on the territory of Dnipropetrovs'k, Zaporozhye,
> Lugansk, Kharkov and Donetsk regions. SVIT also realizes projects in other
> regions jointly with local partner organizations.
>
> The aim of the organization is to support development of volunteer
> movement in
> Ukraine.
>
> The main activity of SVIT-Ukraine is the organization of international and
> local volunteer projects on environmental, social, cultural topics,
> as well as
> work with disadvantaged children and other. We also organize seminars,
> workshops and trainings to inform young people about volunteering and
> volunteer projects, and involve new partners at local level, and have hosting
> projects for long-term volunteers. More information is available at
> www.svit-ukraine.org <http://www.svit-ukraine.org>
>
>
> The project:
>
> Chernovtsy (Ukrainian Chernivtsy, German Czernowitz) is a regional center in
> Western Ukraine, along with Lvov, it is considered to be cultural center of
> Western Ukraine. The city has a rich history, architecture and cultural
> background (in different periods it was part of the Turkish Empire, the
> Austrian-Hungarian Empire and Romania. The city is called ‘little Vienna” or
> “European Alexandria” because of its rich cultural and historic
> background and
> very multi-national community. According to the population census in 2001, 65
> different nationalities are living in the city, which has a total population
> of about 250 000 residents. One of the biggest ethnic groups is Jewish, and
> before the 2nd World War, the Jewish minority was playing an
> important part in
> the life of the city. One of the traces left by the Jewish community, is a
> cemetery of the 19th and first half of the 20th century, which has many tomb
> stones made by famous artists. During the 2nd World War the Jewish population
> suffered terrible losses at the hands of the Nazis. Those who survived the
> war, mostly emigrated.
>
> The name of the city, as one of the versions says, comes from Chorne misto
> (black town), as people called a fortress built in that area around the 13th
> century, which was destroyed by nomadic tribes and rebuilt on the right bank
> of the Prut river. The first time the town is mentioned in written documents
> is October 8, 1408, in letters given to traders from Lviv . This date is now
> considered as the “birthday of the city”. In the second half of 19th century
> many buildings were built in the city, which made it famous: The University
> buildings (considered to be one of the most beautiful universities in
> Europe),
> the Philharmonics building, the Palace of Justice (now Regional
> administration), the Drama theater, Rathaus and others.
>
> Among the cultural and historic monuments of the city are two cemeteries,
> located close to each other – the old Orthodox Christian and the Jewish
> cemeteries, which are both, part of one historical reserve. Especially the
> latter one is in a horrible state of neglect; invasive trees, vines and weeds
> threaten to destroy the monuments. It is planned to contribute to
> the renovation of the cemetery by clearing one of its sections through
> volunteer efforts. In 2008 the city celebrated its 600 anniversary, and the
> first work-camp was organized to clear the cemetery of weedy vegetation as an
> important contribution to the preservation of the cemetery as a cultural and
> historical monument, and in order to revive the memory of the Jewish history
> of the city and the contribution the Jewish community to its
> development. This
> year, the work is being continued. The project is organized in cooperation
> with Chernivtsi city council, with financial support of the “Memoria” program
> which is realized jointly by the "Foundation for Remembrance, Responsibility
> and the Future" and the Stefan Batory Foundation. The aim of the
> program is to
> interest young people from Central and Eastern Europe in common work to
> preserve the European cultural heritage. The project is organized
> with support
> of the Jewish Diaspora of Czernowitz and SCI-Germany with support of local
> activists and NGOs.
>
> More information about the city and Jewish Diaspora:
> http://czernowitz.ehpes.com/
>
> The work:
>
> Clearing the area of the cemetery from of small sapling trees, vines and
> weeds. Preparing the paths to be resurfaced with pebbles or cement,
> installing
> information signs, meetings with local students, schoolchildren, and with
> local NGOs.
>
> The work can be quite hard because of the hot weather.
>
> Study part:
>
> About the culture and history of the region and city, specifically about the
> different ethnic communities including the Jewish community. Guided excursion
> in the city, visits to the local museums. A special excursion will be
> organized with Miriam Taylor, who left the city as a child shortly after the
> 2nd World War. An excursion to Sadgora including a visit to the
> former rabbi’s
> residence. Discussions about the Holocaust, based on the example of
> the Jewish
> community of Chernivtsi.
>
> At the end of the work-camp, a 3-days seminar will be organized to
> discuss the
> results of the work-camp, plans and visions for future work to preserve the
> cemetery, and the possibilities to contribute to the preservation of the
> cultural and historical heritage sites through international volunteer
> work-camps. The seminar will take place 24-27 of August, and participants are
> welcome to stay for it as well (accommodation and food will be provided,
> please confirm to our incoming placement officer (and at the same time one of
> the camp-leaders) Sarah at incoming_at_svit-ukraine.org )
>
>
> Free time:
>
> During the free-time the group can discover and enjoy the city, with its
> beautiful architecture, parks, visit pubs and discos. During the week-end,
> there are diverse possibilities for excursions in the Carpathian
> mountains and
> neighboring towns and villages. It is also possible to go to Lviv for
> one day,
> or visit some other historical places in the neighborhood (as Hotyn).
>
>
> Accommodation:
> Volunteers will stay in students’ dormitories. Beds will be available, but no
> linen. Kitchen and sanitation facilities will be available. Volunteers will
> cook for themselves. So please take your plate, spoon and cup.
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Last year, many members of the list wrote the volunteers letter of
thanks. These letters were received very gratefully. I would like to
suggest that this year we do not wait to write to the volunteers till
after the end of the work-camp, but write them, as soon as they start
the camp.

The volunteers will arrive in Chernivtsi on Aug. 10th, I will arrive on
Aug. 11th and would like to bring the letters with me. I actually will
leave home on Aug. 4th and therefore ask, that all who want to send
letters to the volunteers with me, please send them to me, no later
than July 27th.

"Yehiyeh tov" or "Budyet Charasho"

Mimi
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Received on 2009-06-30 19:40:01