The village of Nyzhnie Selyshche is in Transcarpathia

The village of Nyzhnie Selyshche is in Transcarpathia, the western mountain region of Ukraine, a beautiful very rural area, which has been called “Europe’s last wild frontier". In late May a group of people from Hereford and the Welsh Marches, visiting there with Experience Ukraine, watched as Natalia Cummings presented the village’s Youth Theatre group with an amazing sum of £1665, raised by donation and by a Ukrainian Evening held in Fownhope Memorial Hall. The Youth Theatre group was formed ten years ago and has gone from strength to strength, with some of the original members now working as entertainers. Some of the funds raised will go towards costumes, materials for theatre workshops, T shirts with the logo of the theatre group, and will enable them to take part in drama festivals elsewhere. It is also important for the village to be able to host events and festivals, and so they are restoring the old village school (abandoned during the Soviet years and empty since 1989) to be a 24 bed hostel.We were able to see this project which is being carried out by local builders to a very high standard. It stands in a sloping wild flower filled meadow near the community centre where the Youth theatre project is based.The donation from Herefordshire will go towards the completion of this project.

We watched some girls performing work they had developed themselves, we were entertained later by three young men, former members, as clowns, and our evening party finished with a spectacular fire show, The group had no idea that they were about to receive such an amazing amount of money and the gasp and the cheers said just how much they will be able to achieve with it.