Once again about a camp — the third this year and the last in our first «project» year — and once again we will be speaking of extremely positive things. The first thing worth noting is that the third camp was full of women: almost half the group, which gave it a certain charm, because usually men are in the clear majority, as there are far more of them among those with injuries.

The third active rehabilitation camp ran from 30 May to 10 June at the Western Rehabilitation and Sports Centre, which has become our main base for camps — and we are very glad of it.

This camp was almost a model of how to work with the venue’s staff — or rather, of how little work it took: the third camp in a row let us settle almost every detail, so the management and the staff, who understand the particulars of our camp perfectly, performed like clockwork. We are very grateful that all our wishes were carried out in the shortest time and, most importantly, to the highest standard.

One example is the special tent set up on the grounds, which allowed us to bring everyone’s favourite discipline — archery — back into the programme. After the annexation of Crimea, when holding camps at the Yevpatoria base became impossible, we had to drop archery because of the strict requirements for running it, safety above all.

The tent and the protective screens made it possible to meet those requirements, and thanks to that every participant was able to try this wonderful Paralympic sport.

Additional sponsor funding let us improve the archery equipment considerably: new arrows, bowstrings, protective bracers, sights and other small but no less important parts of the training were bought. We are grateful to everyone who remembers and supports the Group for Active Rehabilitation, because there are always plenty of unforeseen costs. Thank you!

The other four disciplines ran in the usual format, all to schedule — though this time the weather finally let us hold wheelchair skills in the open air, where participants breathed exceptionally fresh air and got a good tan as well. The weather was a little less kind during the cross-quest, but there is a positive side to that too: the point of that discipline is to practise the skills learned in conditions as close to real life as possible, so besides riding over rough terrain there was a fair wind as well. It did not stop anyone keeping a cheerful team spirit over the whole distance, and every team managed to light a fire.

To sum up, a few figures. Twenty people from 12 regions of Ukraine took part, among them internally displaced people, people living in the area of the anti-terrorist operation, and one person who travelled to the camp directly from occupied territory. Once again not everyone had an active-type wheelchair of their own, so we fitted chairs for seven participants, bought within the TEAM project, which allowed them to master getting over obstacles fully. Now, with practical experience and with information about their rights, once home they will be able to apply to their social protection department for an active-type wheelchair and — most importantly — to choose the right one.