“Through the lectures three days a week, despite the distance of several thousand kilometers, I felt the connection with my motherland and my home,” that is the feedback from the participant of the project “Stay with Ukraine”, – Lev Vakhrameyev after two years of studying with us. So today, we offer you a chance to meet our participant and learn about his path in our project.
This is Lev, a talented musician currently attending a German school at the design faculty. Still, he wholeheartedly wishes to keep the connection with Ukraine and to glorify his motherland in the future. The boy is 17 years old, he is originally from the village of Novosilky, Fastiv district, and since the beginning of the full-scale invasion he has been living in Germany. This year he graduated remotely from Boyarsky academic lyceum “Leader”, and is currently attending the senior German school “TGSBBZ Fachoberschule Design”.
“I chose this school spontaneously without much consideration, but at the end of the first academic year, I am certain that I have no regrets. In my school, in addition to the studies, the student is expected to do internship in several places. I have three months of experience in a carpenter’s workshop, 3,5 months in an advertisement bureau, and five months in a blacksmith’s workshop (where I still work).
Thanks to the internship my physical indicators and mental sustainability have improved, and I managed to overcome all the difficulties and to have a feeling of adult life,” says the boy.
Lev is really passionate about music, and has been playing the accordion since he was seven. After finishing music school and moving to Germany, he continues his studies and simultaneously performs with two orchestras.
Additionally, the boy plays the guitar and has his own rock band, “The Lions,” which has already performed at two concerts. Currently, Lev is looking for new musicians, learning the piano, and trying to convert his sister and brother to the world of music.
“The band was formed at my initiative in 2022, when I came to Germany, and it was active until the autumn of 2023. We did some covers of some of the famous Ukrainian and international musicians, and composed some of our own songs. At first, I created the band for fun, we jammed not even every week, but we managed to give about a dozen concerts, one of which was in a theatre. Overall, this band gave me a lot of wonderful emotions and encouraged me to develop in music, so currently I am pursuing this vector.”
My path in “Stay with Ukraine”
Lev learned about our project in August 2022 and joined the tenth grade in September. His mother told him about “Stay with Ukraine” and she offered to catch up on the educational losses, as remote learning in the Ukrainian schools was not easy for him. In June, he finished the eleventh grade and is happy to sincerely share his feedback with the teachers and the “Smart Osvita” team.
“This was really unforgettable two years of my life in the project. During this time, I have become more adult, received invaluable lessons and a lot of knowledge. All the team and the teachers are real heroes for me, as they are making so much effort for the future of Ukraine.
Communication with the senseis of history, literature and language was always on the highest level, extremely enjoyable, and the information was always understandable and could be easily remembered.
Every lesson was a separate small story. I especially enjoyed the winter evenings when I was playing Christmas carols on my accordion for the people in the call, and then I would listen in this Christmas atmosphere, cuddled in blankets, to the story from the teacher,” says Lev.
We also asked the boy what he had received from the project, how he benefited from it, and whether something unexpected happened to him during his studies.
“I received everything I wanted to get from the project. Best teachers possible, a lot of information and enjoyable communication. What was less expected was that while studying in the project I learned to be more disciplined and thanks to it I managed to improve other spheres of my life. Becoming more disciplined did not come easy, as I did not always want to join the lectures. My motivation was always that part of me which wanted to move further and to develop despite everything. And it was definitely worth it, because I have really decent grades in History of Ukraine, Ukrainian Language and Literature. And I am really thankful to the project for teaching me to be disciplined.
And also… when attending the lectures three days a week, despite the distance of several thousand kilometers, I felt my connection with the motherland and my home. The teachers gave me this connection, and I am really thankful to them for that, as they significantly contributed both to my personal development and to the development of all the schoolchildren who joined.”
Lev is calmly sharing his plans for after the graduation from the project. He is fully aware that now, aged 17, he is still at the crossroads between different professions, and he has no idea which path to choose. Since childhood, the boy has had many options: studying in a musical academy, creating his own brand of clothes, making musical instruments, designing weapons, becoming an architect or a karate sensei. And now it is difficult to choose just one.
“I would like to do so many different things, but I have understood that I need to focus on one goal. And globally, I would like to glorify my motherland and become one of those legendary figures who made an outstanding contribution to the formation of Ukraine and its independence. So, I invest a lot of energy and effort into everything I do, I do not quit at early challenges that I face on the horizon, and this is, in my opinion, of paramount importance for any profession I might choose in the future.”
The Project “Stay with Ukraine” is implemented by “Smart Osvita” NGO with the support of Global Giving.
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