A group of Japanese TV journalists, looking for a story about a family fleeing bombing in Ukraine, found us and visited the summer program of the Ukrainian Studies School “New Wave” in Brooklyn. 50 percent of the children who came with their parents on a password are in this program. There are children and teachers who fled from occupied Kherson, there are from Odessa and Kyiv, Kropyvnytskyi and Poltava, there are from the western regions of Ukraine.

During a lesson in which our students were drawing Ukrainian symbols, their camera stopped at a boy's drawing, in which a full-length soldier with a Ukrainian flag stood next to a tank, and at a considerable distance from him lay the enemy. Pointing to the soldier with the Ukrainian flag, Yevhen explained to journalists: "This is my Barat. He is a senior sergeant of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," he said with pride. "He is defending Ukraine from the enemy who came to our land with war." And I am returning to Ukraine on Saturday, he added prudently, "because my mother is there alone and she needs my support."

- A Japanese journalist was moved and asked me: "Can we come to you tomorrow? We want to film how the children will escort Eugene."

The next day, on the prints of their palms on the Ukrainian flag, all our schoolchildren wrote wishes for Ukraine, Ukrainian defenders, and for such young patriots as Yevhen. The girl Abigail, who was very upset that her partner in dances, in the choreography studio, was leaving, gave him a bilingual book of children's letters about the war, in which there was a place for a photo of their dancing couple. The school family of "Novaya Khvylka" presented Yevhen with a T-shirt with the school's symbols as a souvenir. Knee pads were given to the brother-defender and his siblings. And the parents of our pupils collected money for a ticket for Yevhen for an hour. There was a farewell speech by Yevhen, in which he invited everyone to come to Kyiv and celebrate the victory together. Because it will be soon, - he is sure. The children sang the anthem of Ukraine with inspiration. And "Oh, in the meadow there is a red viburnum." Hugging tears… Not only we were moved, but also our Japanese guests. The video shows a favorite song. In the center with the flag is Yevhen.

Myroslava Rozdolska