Camp. Summer. Campfires and sunrises.
This year is special for the "Magistral" children's health resort, owned by the Vitebsk branch of the Belarusian Railway. The health resort is celebrating its 80th anniversary. Therefore, the opening of the season was, of course, festive.
Deputy Head of the Railway Branch Sergey Lyadenko, Chairman of the Trade Union Pavel Yermalovich, and Chairman of the Veterans Council Nikolay Yesyuchenko came to congratulate the children and adults at the opening of the first shift. Moreover, the honored guests brought sweet prizes for the contests.
The camp accommodates 310 children per shift. There will be four shifts of 18 days each during the summer. Primarily, these are children of railway workers from Vitebsk and Polotsk. Although there are children from Voropayevo and Krulevechzna. From small settlements where railway workers are employed. And these are numerous stations within the Vitebsk branch.
At the same time, some vouchers for the health resort are sold commercially, and anyone can buy them. In particular, for the current first shift, children from Minsk and from outside Belarus have arrived. In short, the geography is wide. For the first and last shifts, there are always some vouchers available for commercial sale. Trade unions of banks gladly purchase them for their children, as do education departments. Although, of course, the primary provision of vouchers is for the families of railway workers.
The railway management understands that healthy children are the key to the successful future of the country, which is why they invest funds and make considerable efforts to ensure that summer recreation is comfortable, beneficial, and that the boys and girls want to come back here again. This year, renovations were made to the bathrooms and residential rooms in the main building, and air conditioners were installed in the assembly hall.
The "Magistral" health resort can safely be called a place where children receive professional orientation. The railway theme
The "Zheleznodorozhnik" (Railwayman) club is operational. Children can make a gift for their parents using stencils - cut out a railway car and paint it. They also always show cartoons that explain how to behave on the railway and what absolutely must not be done. The event plan also includes a train game. And in August, Railwayman's Day is celebrated at "Magistral".
Over 80 years, the camp has become not just a health resort, but also a school for raising the younger generation of railway workers. The established traditions allow us to say that children receive a lot of useful information here, learn communication and life in a large group.
While recounting the history of "Magistral", all those present at the celebrations gratefully remembered the people who made a significant contribution to the development of the children's health resort. These include the former Head of Belarusian Railways Evgeny Volodko, the former head of the Vitebsk department Sergey Pakhalkin, and Viktor Chistobaev, who was the camp director for many years. Alas, they could only watch the celebrations from above. But it is thanks to them that the camp developed and took its rightful place in the history of the railway.
- In my childhood, I visited "Magistral" only once, - says the Deputy Head of the Vitebsk department of the railway Sergey Lyadenko. - I think I was in the sixth or seventh grade then. Childhood, a carefree time... But ideal conditions for recreation were always created at the railway. The food was good. I remember many interesting and vivid events and entertainment. In short, only positive memories remain. I hope that the current young generation will also appreciate the rest with us. And we will do our best for this.
It is difficult to count how many children have rested at the camp over 80 years. For example, in 1937, from 120 to 150 vacationers were accommodated here, in 1968 (when the camp was called "Vostok-5") - about 400-450 people. Now - three times more.
Children at the camp are divided into groups based on age. Each group has 30 people. Younger children live in rooms for four people,
rooms - seven to eight per building. Showers, toilets, sinks, and dryers are available everywhere. By the way, when it rains, the children also have something to do. The buildings have billiard and table tennis tables. You can also play a game of chess, throw darts, or read. The educators' goal is to ensure that the child experiences no discomfort.The senior camp counselor, Vasily Shedko, has vivid memories of his childhood at "Magistral". The son of railway workers, he first came here to rest at the age of ten in 1975, and has been working here every summer since 1987. Children and grandchildren of those with whom Vasily Viktorovich spent wonderful summer sessions at "Magistral" in his childhood now come here for recreation. I have been an educator for 30 years. Of course, the current generation is different. Back then, no one had even heard of phones; there were only two TVs for the entire camp to watch the "Vremya" program. "Now children have computers, tablets, and mobile phones," says Vasily Shedko. "But we try to distract the kids from electronic gadgets. This rule was established by the previous camp director, Viktor Chistobaev." Unfortunately, he has been gone for two years, but his work lives on. Viktor Kimovich dedicated his life to this camp, managing it from 1983. Both under him and now, we strive to make children's recreation developmental and creative. We hold talent contests and revive old traditions, but in a modern way.
For example, in our time, there was a great game called "Zarnitsa." We revived it in a new way. Now it's modern laser tag. Every day, we hold sports events: football, volleyball, basketball, aerobics, and track and field. And, of course, every day begins with exercises. For the first session, we educators don't even need to teach. Mostly, they are students from Vitebsk State University named after P. M. Masherov, who are doing their practical training here. Many of them study at the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports, which means they are prepared to work with children. They conduct sports events at a sufficiently high level. And mobile phones? Do you really take them away? We don't have the right to do that. However
проводим агитационную кампанию среди родителей. Когда они привозят детей на смену, я всегда говорю: «Если можете, заберите мобильные телефоны у своих детей. Всем будет лучше». Кажется, что 18 дней без сотового им не прожить, но, я считаю, это вполне осуществимо. Уверен, в лагере нет необходимости ребенку носить с собой мобильный телефон: здесь он всем обеспечен, заблудиться сложно. Считаю, выезжать на природу, чтобы сидеть в Интернете, не имеет смысла. Лето скоротечно, нужно ловить каждый момент, чтобы побольше побыть среди природы, побегать на свежем воздухе. А планшеты и смартфоны никуда не денутся. Кстати, дети и сами это чувствуют. Сразу после заезда начинаются активные игры на свежем воздухе. Из прежних традиций мы также возрождаем костры, ходим встречать рассвет.К слову, об основном месте работы Василия Викторовича. Шедько преподает на кафедре информатики и информационных технологий в ВГУ имени П. М. Машерова. Вот и получается, что и сам отдыхает от Интернета каждое лето, и детям советует.
Помощник Витебского транспортного
прокурора
Янчиленко Е.В.