From the 5th to the 7th of September in the capital of Poland Warsaw the Oncological Olympic Games 2008 took place. These Games were organized for the children who recovered from an oncological disease. The aim of this event was to popularize sports among these children and help them to become integrated into the society. The team representing Ukraine which consists of 18 participants (10 children more as compared with the previous year) won 13 medals and occupied the first place according to the number of medals.
A day before sending the participants to Warsaw, on September, the 3rd, in the pediatric department of the National Institute of Cancer the Ukrainian Charitable Fund “Zaporuka” organized a farewell party. The place for the party wasn’t chosen by chance because that day became special not only for those who went to Poland but also for those who was in the department and fought with their terrible disease.
The guests of the event were the representatives of the Football Federation of Ukraine, that is the famous players such as Volodymyr Muntyan and Vladyslav Vashuk who expressed their support for the children and hope that every year there would be more participants in that Olympic Games from Ukraine. The representative of the Olympic Committee Grabovetskyy Myroslav Mykhaylovych continued the official part of the event. The head of the Olympic Committee Bubka Sergiy Nazarovych coundn’t attend the party but he sent the letter in which he wrote that the children who went to the Olympic Games had already been winners because they had overcame the disease and wished that the Games became a special event in their life. The representative of the Paraolympic Committee of Ukraine Chaplygina Alla Oleksandrivna also congratulated the participants and wished them success in sport and in life.
After all the official speeches Vladyslav Vashuk and Volodymyr Muntyan gave sport kits to the participants and presents to all the children who underwent treatment at the department. Then Vashuk continued to communicate with the children dispensing autographs and had photographs taken with everybody who wanted them.
On September, the 5th, in the morning the children arrived in Warsaw. After having rest they were ready to attend the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games and participate in different competitions such as football, table-tennis, swimming, running, jumping and so on. The atmosphere of the Games was friendly and cheerful although those who lost their competitions often burst into tears – everything was for real!
Besides the competitions, the children had an opportunity to communicate with their peers from other countries: our children got along very well with the representatives of the Russian team and our girls enjoyed dancing with the boys from Turkey. The cultural programme which presupposed a tour around Warsaw impressed the children and their parents greatly.
On the 8th of September at the Central Railway Station in Kiev the winners were welcomed with the flowers by the representatives of the association “Soleterre” and the charitable fund “Zaporuka”. Happy children were singing songs about Ukraine sharing their splendid emotions with everyone around.
The members of the Ukrainian team are: Belayev Yevgeniy, Sydorenko Liliya, Batrak Mykola, Bezerova Nadiya, Belayeva Anastasia, Goryana Yuriy, Dmytrenko Maxim, Zorkina Zoya, Ivashenko Iryna, Marchak Maryna, Melenko Anna, Silonov Yevgen Konchakovska Maryna, Trofov Maxim, Tsymbalyuk Andriy, Shevchuk Ganna, Pylypiv Yuriy, Pozharska Angelina.
Congratulations to the Winners!
