Brothers Yevgheny și Oleksei are proud to be in charge
The story of the young volunteers for whom the notion of “home” got larger.
- Available in:
- English
- Română
When visitors go through the front doors of CATTIA Blue Dot Hub in Brasov, they are often welcomed with a friendly smile by Yevgheny și Oleksei, the two 15-year-old twin brothers from Odessa.
Tall and athletic, and also attentive and with a very serious demeanor, the two young volunteers seem inseparable. You always see them at the front desks or running around the center with various tasks. “We come here almost every day now, as volunteers, trying to help other Ukrainians that are in this hard situation, like us.”
They like the mountains here in Brasov, because it’s a new and different landscape than Odessa. As nature lovers, they’re very active and also started sports from a young age - always in the same team, of course. Back home, they had daily football training, for several hours, in the other part of the town, so they walked a lot through their beautiful city of Odessa. They speak very affectionately about their town and hope to invite us all to visit them there, as soon as possible. “The historical center is superb, because it was restored recently, and some say that the Opera house is the most beautiful in Europe, after the one in Vienna. Our city developed fast in the last few years, faster than the rest of Ukraine”, they tell us.
Of course, they were part of a big group of adolescents, but their friends and colleagues are now spread around Europe. “We also befriended a lot of people here, at the center, even boys from Odessa, like us. We were lucky to meet a lot of young people of our age, so we bonded strongly in these last few months”, they explain.
They miss the sea - “It’s hard to go through summer without sea” - but they’re also glad that their grandparents managed to go to Constanta, on the Romanian seaside. “Some grandparents are here with us, others stayed in Odessa. But they’re happy to know that we’re here, safe.” They know a lot of people that ran from the horrors of war who initially wanted to go further, to Germany or Poland, but stayed here in Romania, as it is such a nice place.
School will start soon also, “unfortunately”, but not because they don’t like it, it’s just that summer flies too fast and they love exploring the nature around Brasov. They like math, “maybe because we got this attraction from our parents, but also because it’s a very logical discipline”. Some of their teachers promised them that they will soon return home and go to school, in physical classes, but the war doesn’t seem to get closer to an end, so nobody knows how things will be in the fall, or the near future.
“For now, we’re staying here, because we have everything we need here. But, yes, we do want to eventually go back home. As for college… When we were in Odessa we could make some plans, but now we don’t. We just need to be pragmatic for the moment.”
In the meantime, they like to keep themselves busy by volunteering at the center. “It gives us a feeling of power to be able to help others.”
They proudly recall that, in spring, when there was a big wave of refugees, they were overseeing the play space for children, here at the CATTIA center. Those families that arrived tired and worried from a long road into the unknown were very glad to see the two young brothers taking care of their little ones, talking and playing with them. The UNICEF supported Cattia Center is one of the Blue Dots in which spaces dedicated to children and mothers are available, but also many other services like information providing and counselling, or accommodation.
“We understand how important it is to find somebody who is speaking your language and can help you, even just by talking to you. And even more, when you have kids and need somebody to look after them”, they explain.
The two brothers are sure they will leave with nice memories from Brasov. “The notion of home became larger”, was their compliment for this adoptive city. At the end, they insisted on giving a special message: “Thank you for trying to learn our opinions and stories and showing them to the public. It helps.”
