Children who fled Ukraine find friendship, care through Barry University’s ‘Seeds of Hope’

For 50 children, displaced from Ukraine because of war, summer in Miami was more than a dream come true.

They found friendship and caring support through Seeds of Hope at Barry University created by Ekaterina “Kat” Elagina, who also directs the program.

“Just like hundreds of thousands of people all over the world, I was shocked and terrified by the news I heard on February 24^th – Russia invaded Ukraine,” Elagina said. “This surreal and horrific event and the humanitarian crises caused by the invasion have destroyed lives, hopes, the future of many Ukrainians. It is painful to see the sufferings of others and it hurts even more when you don’t know what to do and how to help.”

With partnering assistance from USA Help Ukraine, she and her team helped the children transform stress into resilience.

“As an educator and a counselor-in-training, I’ve been involved in work with children from different backgrounds for many years. One of the most profound experiences that has impacted me professionally and personally is my work with the Lori Brener Scholarship Fund and the amazing Miriam Salazar and Neyda Raola,” Elagina said.

Raola, child advocate and co-chair of the Fund, said it was wonderful to see how the community came together to put smiles on the children’s faces. The programs were sponsored by private donations. “It was amazing how many passionate and dedicated professionals were, and are, willing to share their time, expertise, and energy with children of the Seeds of Hope program. Every day of programming was unique, and when I look into the eyes of the children and see less pain and despair — these are the most precious moments for me.”

Parent Iryna Azytska said her daughter Luisa was so excited about every day with the Seeds of Hope program: “I’m very grateful. There are still many children who are hiding in basements from bombing. Some children were lucky to escape, and our children are not only alive and safe, they are happy again because of you.”

Elagina founded the program quickly to help families who escaped to Miami.

“It is a life-changing experience to see children of 7 years old playing with paper airplanes that are bombing other children,” she said. “That is not a scene from a movie or one’s fantasy. That is part of their life.

“Children’s perception is very flexible. By introducing children to new positive experiences and promoting protective factors, such as caregiving, close relationships with prosocial people, self-regulation skills, team sports, and just having fun with other children, we are able to increase their adaptive capacities and help them find sources of hope.”

Another parent Iryna Mihailiuk said it was difficult to find the words to describe the change in her son, Ilya:

“Like many other children, Ilya had lost his connection with the peaceful life — it was so painful for him. And during the summer academy Seeds of Hope, he discovered an engaging and interesting life — the new life that he has now after all horrible events in Ukraine. Every word I’m saying is full of tears; these are tears of grief for our old life and our home country, and these are tears of gratitude,” she said.

The program also included English classes, art therapy and field trips. Elagina said she is not stopping in her mission. “We already know what we can do next for these children. Seeds of Hope program at Barry University will be offering activities and events for children and parents displaced from Ukraine to further support them and inspire them to never give up. Compassion heals the world.”

Live in the Park! lineup set

Be sure to check out Westchester Cultural Arts Center’s music series Live in the Park! Performances include the Cuban Son group Cortadito, flautist Nestor Torres and Tito Puente, Jr. The series will end Dec. 31 with the Marlow Rosado Orchestra and DJ El Russo ringing in the New Year.

“Live in the Park! is a continuation of a music series that began with the ever-popular Disney Cabaret, and we hope it will continue to grow and bring exciting performances to audiences at the Westchester Cultural Arts Center,” said Charles Sothers, Artistic Director of The Roxy Theatre Group, the organization managing the Center.

Tickets start at $35. For a full schedule and tickets, visit www.wcacenter.org or call 305-226-0030.

Young opera singers compete Oct. 8

The final 10 vocalists will perform live in front of judges and an audience at the 31st annual Voice Competition hosted by the Young Patronesses of the Opera at 1:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 at the First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables.

“All prizes are awarded live at the competition,” said Patricia Scerpella, publicity co-chair. “At our last competition, in 2019, prizes totaling $45,500 were awarded, with the top prize being $10,000.” The two categories represented will be Senior Young Artist, ages 26 to 30, and Junior Young Artist, ages 20 to 25.

Attendance at the 2019 event was nearly 300 people, and the group is expecting at least that this year. The competition is followed by a reception.

“This is the first time we will host the competition in Coral Gables,” Scerpella said. Tickets are $30 at www.ypo-miami.org/voice-competition

Write to ChristinaMMayo@gmail.com with news for this column.