Story added: 5th August 2022

Welcome to Norfolk Day shines light on talented, young artist

Last weekend the Community Sports Foundation hosted a ‘Welcome to Norfolk’ day for Ukrainian refugees and their host families at The Nest.

In doing so, we had the privilege of meeting a number of extremely bright, talented and resilient young people – one of whom is an aspiring artist by the name, or rather nickname of, ‘Masha’.

Twelve-year-old Masha enjoys producing sketches, paintings, and even digital art, sharing her work on her Instagram page.

Masha found that during the recent turmoil in her native country, art has presented her with a form of creative escapism and a safe haven to relax and take her mind off things.

The abruptness of her move to the U.K., meant that a lot of her supplies and previous creations were left behind in Ukraine.

As she has only been in the U.K. for three weeks, Masha has not had time to buy new supplies, so being at The Nest presented a fantastic opportunity to rediscover her creative touch.

Masha now aims to save up some money so she can visit a local store for some new supplies in the coming weeks.

Following the successes of the ‘Welcome to Norfolk’ day, she, her eleven-year-old brother, Vova and ten-year-old cousin, Sasha, will look to continue to take part in the Foundation’s activities, having already enjoyed playing sports at one of our Big Norfolk Holiday Fun summer camps prior to last weekend.

Though Masha speaks little English, through assistance from an interpreter, she said that she “enjoyed the day very much” and is “looking forward to coming again”.