Sunny camp: more than half a century-year-old recreation for children

Children on Sunny: “We have no time to get bored”

On 19 July early morning Kazanorgsintez PJSC’s Sunny Recreational Camp for Children welcomed guests and parents invited to the celebration of the camp’s 55^th anniversary. The gaze immediately fell on asphalted paths that children adorned with touching bright pictures together with their supervisors, while a stand with a collage of photos about life in Sunny welcomed the guests next to the main building.

Mainly children from families of Kazanorgsintez PJSC workers spend their holiday in Sunny recreational camp for children. Many of them have already spent their second or third summer in the camp in a row. Arina Potapova told Realnoe Vremya’s correspondent that she had been in Sunny on holiday for the second year, she likes night discos and supervisors here the most.

Ten-year-old Zarina Zaripova and Darina Ivanova who were enthusiastically painting a picture of Leopold the Cat on the asphalt added with inspiration that they liked the friendly environment in the camp and how groups supported each other during performances. Nine-year-old Vadim Sharafutdinov had a more serious approach to the holiday in the camp:

“I like the delicious food here, my favourite meal is pasta with cutlet. It is tastier here than at home. It is also nice that there is a nap time when one can have a rest inside. We are constantly engaged in creative activities, dance, paint at times.”

Director of the recreational camp for children Khalida Kirikmasova said that in 2019 Sunny not only celebrated the jubilee of the camp but also the 20^th jubilee since the foundation of the Republic of Boys and Girls. The children’s camp has a unique self-management programme: children create a parliament, choose a president, ministers. There are also posts of city mayors where cities are groups.

At plenary sessions, children discuss what to do for the camp, what games to have. All the events are approved by the parliament.

Bright and active Arina Shkatula has been in Sunny RCC five times, and this time she has become the vice president.

“To become the vice president, I danced. And a girl who sang was chosen as president, she has a beautiful voice. As a vice president, I help everyone, in the parliament I give orders more than the president. I tell off those who do something wrong. The camp has gorgeous supervisors, the workers always smile, they are kind. It is fun here, different competitions are held here every year, we have no time to get bored. Children rarely call even their parents because they don’t have the time,” Arina Shkatula said.

Parents on Sunny: “In answer to the question if she wants to go home the daughter replies she doesn’t”

Parents who arrived in the jubilee celebration of Sunny RCC remember their childhood spent in the camp with pleasure.

“I am the grandmother of an 11-year-old granddaughter, she has been here for the third time already. Our camp is the best, my daughter also used to spend holidays here. We saw the camp that consisted of barracks. Now it has been repaired and soon it will look like Artek. The best camp, the best teachers and infrastructure, said Svetlana Vladimirova, chairwoman of High-Density Polyethylene Plant’s trade union at Kazanorgsintez PJSC.

Khalida Kirkmasova also notes the supervisors’ professionalism. The camp established partnership relations with the Kazan Pedagogical College whose students have been working as supervisors in Sunny for 40 years already. And it is notable that children trust their teachers, they are on the same wavelength.

“My youngest daughter is on holiday here, she is seven. She has gone to the camp for the first time. We argued with my wife if to send the daughter to Sunny or not, but I insisted that a child should get used to independence since childhood. Now in answer to the question if she wants to go home the daughter replies she doesn’t. The conditions in the camp are great. My older daughter has been in other camps, we have what to compare with. Recreational camps usually have 15 people in one room, here 3-4 people live in the room, there is WC, shower on the floor.”

A busy entertaining programme is organised for children. My daughter calls me in the evening, she leaves the disco earlier because she is tired, wants to sleep. She falls asleep faster than at home,” Yevgeny Selivanov, director of the internal security regime department at Kazanorgsintez PJSC, shared his impressions about the recreational camp.

Guests on Sunny: “When I was a schoolgirl, it was said the best holiday was in Sunny”

During the concert organised by the supervisors and children, the guests saw performances of dance bands. Young singers, gymnasts and actresses of the camp performed for them. Deputy Director General in HR and General Affairs of Kazanorgsintez PJSC Aydar Akhmetshin congratulated the children on the holiday on behalf of the director general of the enterprise. He noted that the management of the recreational camp covered a long path:

“New sites, equipped classrooms have appeared in the last two years. This happens because of your labour, patience, professionals, well-oiled work with urban colleagues and our shareholder’s careful attention,” said Aydar Akhmetshin said.

Deputy head of the administration of Kirov and Moscow Districts Aliya Zagidullina, in turn, greeted the management of the camp, parents and children and said that the district was rich in recreational camps for children, but Sunny was one of the best.

“When I was a schoolgirl, it was said the best holiday was in Sunny. You study throughout the year to go on holiday in summer. If you come here, it is a success. Enjoy every day of the holiday to get inspiration from the summer holiday in winter,” deputy head of the administration of Kirov and Moscow Districts congratulated the children.

High-ranking guests noted the friendly atmosphere that reigned in the camp.

Acting deputy head in PR and director of TAIF JSC press service Leonid Kozlovsky congratulated Sunny RCC on the holiday on behalf of TAIF JSC. He said that Sunny etched its name on the list of the best camps in the Republic of Tatarstan.

“It is one of the up-to-date recreational facilities of Tatarstan without exaggeration. We went for a walk in the camp and saw an amazing football pitch, workout sites. Everything was created to enable children to feel comfortable,” Leonid Kozlovsky added.

After the festive concert, the children ran away to interactive sites that supervisors and the management of the camp prepared for them. They could match against each other in pillow fight, try their hand at tug of war, sack race and race with a spoon. The winners got coins that they were given ice cream for.

280 children stay in the camp per shift

Sunny recreational camp for children opened in 1964, and a building for 90 people was erected first. Even the canteen operated then outdoors. As time went by, several buildings like barracks that accommodated 50 people were built. In 1995, the buildings were demolished, and comfortable two-storeyed buildings were erected, each of them was designed for 70 people. Now four children live in one room.

Up to 280 children stay in the camp per shift and from 840 to a thousand people during the summer. The full price of the ticket is 26,000 rubles, Kazanorgsintez workers pay 15% or 3,900 rubles for 21 days of holiday. The enterprise pays the rest of the sum.

Kazanorgsintez actively participates in the development of the children’s camp.

“The reconstruction of Sunny RCC began in 2017 with the initiative and direct support of officials of TAIF JSC and Kazanorgsintez PJSC. Nowadays the fence in the perimeter of the camp changed, reconstruction was held in all the buildings, in the playground, a new football pitch was laid. There is no facility to remain without a major repair. It is planned to build a new checkpoint with a waiting spot for parents because security is the key task now,” said Fanur Almiyev, director of the administration on social affairs at Kazanorgsintez PJSC.

Despite such a serious date, Sunny has a great future ahead, the camp’s employees think. It is planned to become a Tatarstan Artek, which means that young Kazan citizens will have a more intense and diverse holiday. But officials kept how the camp would transform a secret to make a pleasant surprise later.