How Plast Began in Dubno and Its Benefits
The mission of Plast, the Ukrainian scouting organization, is to build a successful Ukraine through capable and self-sufficient scouts. The Dubno chapter also believes that youth education is the best path to success. The organization has been operating in Dubno for a short time. This became possible thanks to displaced persons from Kherson who volunteered to support patriotic education and self-development among young people. The Sliusars family, who now lead the local chapter, shared with the team of the Dobrobut Dubno Community Foundation how Plast was established in Dubno and who supports its activities.
– “Plast in Dubno is very new. It all started with two groups at the Center for National-Patriotic Education, with just one instructor. This year, we joined Plast as volunteers. That was around the beginning of the year, in February 2023,” says Vasyl Sliusar. “In fact, Plast gained new momentum for development under the guidance and support of the Rivne Training Center. We established contact with them, agreed on our next steps, and started recruiting groups. My wife became a volunteer instructor. I handle organizational matters and manage social media. We made an announcement and gathered parents who had long wanted to involve their children in a scouting organization. And that’s how our work with Plast in Dubno began.”
“Our children practice self-education, self-organization, and become active citizens of their community and the country as a whole.”
– The goal of the Plast chapter in Dubno:
– The goal of the Plast chapter in Dubno is to nurture active citizens, natural-born leaders, capable and proactive young people who, despite their limited experience, can make decisions and take responsibility for their actions. Our children practice self-education, self-organization, and become active citizens of their community and the country as a whole.
– Who supports you?
– I want to thank all the people in Dubno who warmly welcomed us as displaced persons from Kherson and continue to support us. We were introduced to the Center for Patriotic Education by Mykola Mandziuk, head of the Dobrobut Dubno Community Foundation. We got acquainted with him and have continued our collaboration with this charitable organization. Currently, we are at the stage where the city council has allocated funds for renovating a space where we plan to work with children. Volunteer and charitable organizations like “Dobrobut” are funding our activities. In fact, we have never collected membership fees from parents, as we rely entirely on grants and charitable assistance.
– First and foremost, we are supported by parents who want their children to become scouts and Plast members. They themselves are involved in Plast. We also receive support from the city government. Additionally, our main support comes from the “Dobrobut” organization, which assists us with workshops and organizing activities for children,” adds Liubov Sliusar.
– How many Plast members are currently in Dubno?
– Right now, we have 25 Plast members in Dubno. We have both younger scouts (novaky) and older scouts (yunaky),” continues Mrs. Liuba.
“Our plans are very ambitious, including expanding our chapter into a full-fledged Plast Stanytsia.”
– After almost a year of operation, what has been the most challenging aspect?
– The most challenging aspect in Plast is always finding instructors. These are volunteers who must dedicate their time to working with children. Currently, we have two volunteers: myself and Nadiia. We have three scout groups, but this year, a girl who moved to Dubno for her studies is expected to join us. She may become an assistant (pidsestrychka) and help us mentor our Plast members.
And the children enjoy their mentors and being part of Plast.
– I like that we have really good mentors. In Plast, everyone is smart. We have good discipline—no one is allowed to shout during our meetings. I quite enjoy activities like fairs, dancing, singing, and all those fun things,” says Plast member Mariia.
Her peer, Oleksandra, adds:
– I joined Plast because I love traveling, especially abroad.
Ten-year-old Anastasiia shares the same opinion:
– I like Plast because we travel a lot. And I absolutely love going to camps, just like everyone else. We do all kinds of workshops, learn about the history of Plast, and much more.
Even the mentors, such as Liubov Sliusar, note that:
– Plast teaches children to be leaders and responsible citizens of our country. They also become active individuals who can influence the development of the country—true patriots. Many former Plast members are now defending Ukraine, and they have skills that Plast helped them develop.
– Finally, could you share your future plans?
– Overall, we have very ambitious plans, including expanding our chapter into a full-fledged Plast Stanytsia,” summarizes Vasyl Sliusar. – We are currently in the process of registering as an official Plast subunit. We plan to conduct activities with children at the National-Patriotic Education Center. More broadly, we aim to expand our activities throughout Ukraine. This year, as of late summer 2023, the children have already attended five camps both in Ukraine and abroad.
