THREE Ukrainian creatives displaced by the war, are appealing for funding to secure the future of a new children’s activity club they have launched in Redditch.
Friends Tetiana Volikova, Yana Tyshyna and Svitlana Vasylieva established and run Creative Carousel with the support of Redditch and Kingfisher Rotary Club.
But now the team needs to boost its depleted £9,900 Redditch Borough Council grant which initially funded the first four months.
It is hoped a free Heritage Fun Day between 11am and 2pm on September 13 at St Laurence Church and the Ark in Alvechurch will also help showcase the club which, they say, offers a unique blend of UK and Ukrainian teaching methods and after-school care.
Members of the team will be on hand to talk about the club.
There will be a host of family fun on offer, including church and tower tours, prize draws, games, live performances, face painting and food stalls.
The three ladies all resettled in Redditch a few weeks after the war broke out. They were forced to flee with their children to Poland and Turkey, before finding sponsor families in Worcestershire.
After meeting through the BRWR (Bromsgrove and Redditch Welcome Refugee Group) they realised their passions and skills as a vocal coach, artist and choreographer aligned and so set about building Creative Carousel.
Tetiana said she felt there was a need for something like this in the area so appealed for help from Rotary to organise the project and apply for grants.
The group hopes Creative Carousel will become a business at some point in the future.
Rotary bought materials to help the group get up and running and Tetiana, Svitlana and Yana said they could not have done it without that assistance.
This is a return to the work they loved but were forced to leave behind in their homeland.
Tetiana, who fled Khmelnytskyi with her two children aged six and 17 just days, has over 30 years of experience as a performer, vocal coach, and international competition judge and had been running her own successful vocal studio for 12 years before the war broke out.
She said: “Being in UK I previously contributed to projects funded by the National Lottery and the Arts Council, including the renowned Eurovision Refugee Choir project in Liverpool and the European Youth Music Refugee Choir.
“These experiences were deeply inspiring, instilling a desire to create another project that fosters international cultural exchange through music.”
She added she witnessed the transformative impact that culturally diverse, inclusive arts projects could have on communities and it strengthened her commitment to making arts more accessible and meaningful, especially for refugees and immigrants.
Yana is a choreographer and production ballet master and director of the Mriya dance ensemble in Birmingham, which includes over 50 dancers from various countries.
In Ukraine she worked at the Kyiv College of Culture and Arts in the Department of Choreographic Arts before fleeing to the UK with her seven-year-old twin sons, who are themselves, excellent dancers.
Professional artist Svitlana Vasylieva, resettled in Redditch after fleeing Dnipro with her two sons aged two and 11.
She has exhibited in the UK and won the Art in Redditch Graham Award in May 2025.
She is highly regarded for her work with children – frequently invited by cultural centres, holiday clubs, and community organisations to lead art workshops for young audiences.
The clubs
From September the club will run three classes a week.
The first at The Bridge Church (former St Luke’s Church), Headless Cross, from 4.30pm to 6.30pm on Mondays for six to eight-year-olds and at the same times on Wednesdays for nine to 11-year-olds.
In Alvechurch – at St Laurence Church and The Ark, School Lane – there will be a group from 4pm to 6pm on Thursdays for seven to 11-year-olds.
The cost of each session is £10, including teatime, with a special offer of just £2 for the first session.
Sibling discounts are available and families enrolling with multiple children receive a 20 per cent discount.
Visit: gofundme.com/f/with-running-costs-a-new-development-club-for-children for more on the fundraising and to donate to the cause.
And go to: creativecarousel.co.uk or email Tetiana and the team at: [email protected] for more information and to pledge sponsorship.
