On December 5, dedicated to International Volunteer Day, Dacha and Epoch TV channels as well as FILM.UA Group YouTube channel will present a pilot episode of social reality show Building Ukraine Together.
The broadcast will take place at 6 PM on all platforms at the same time.
BUT is a reality show about the activities of volunteering movement under the same title. The participants from different parts of the country get together to repair with their own hands the houses of needy Ukrainians.
BUT emerged in 2014 as a volunteering campaign which aimed to restore houses destroyed by war in the east of Ukraine. With time, BUT transformed into a movement forming a new generation of responsible Ukrainians making change. That is why BUT is about building but not just houses but also bridges of communications between Ukrainians.
Play Production filming group joined volunteers, strengthened them with an experienced construction supervisor and designer and made this video for the country to see its heroes. The project was implemented with the support of USAID.
“We really wanted to help the people who needed that. The participants of the pilot episode were a family from Cherkasy region. The protagonist Oleksandr was left alone with four children when a grave disease took his wife’s life. The youngest daughter had just turned one year old then. The family lived in a tiny one-room outhouse where they slept, cooked and stored their things. The girls always dreamed about their own room, and the father, about a separate kitchen. So we are very happy that we managed to make this family’s dreams come true. Doing good, even in the times when there is no strength, too little time and resources is an enjoyable experience. We became convinced that there are lots of good people in Ukraine. Hearing the family’s story, partners provided some construction materials free of charge. Local residents, colleagues and relatives helped us in our work, and the film crew worked in night shifts so that the family had finally got their own house,” said Zoya Soshenko, project lead and general manager at Play Production.
“It was a crazy experience of joining two teams, volunteers and film crew. A crazy experience of huge amount of construction work with very tight deadline. A crazy experience of communication, quarrels, sympathies, new skills, spoilage of construction materials and shots. The camp in Shpola became the frontline of cooperation with the construction show. Young people from all over Ukraine came there. There were students and people who went on vacation to volunteer; there were radio engineers and ornithologists. Somebody takes good pictures, another one writes poems, and some 12-year-old already can lay bricks and apply putty. They are all different but united by a single wish to help others,” said Vira Pionerska, head of volunteer projects.
After 10 days of diligent work the team of indifferent people made the family’s dream came true. How did they manage? Watch the first episode of BUT this Saturday, on December 5 at 6 PM on Dacha, Epoque, and FILM.UA Group YouTube channel.
