Camp Courage

- - Which one do I want? Purple.

- - My dream house.

Of course.

I understand the kind of grief you must be feeling right now,

and how you probably feel like you have to bear it all by yourself.

That's how it felt when I lost my brother.

- I'm so sorry. My condolences. - It's so awful.

Amazing. That's such a pretty house. How wonderful.

And the flowers. Let's wish for a peaceful sky.

Write the word "peace."

- You should draw a dove flying... - Grandma, it's my drawing.

Ah, of course. Sorry.

What are we gonna do at camp? Go on adventures?

- Mm-hmm. - What kind of adventures?

Will we hike up the mountains?

- You want to? - Of course we will.

- Up! - Do you need a hand?

- No. - You and I are leaving tomorrow.

Early in the morning.

I hope I packed everything I need.

- How long are we going for? - For a week.

I should probably bring a big towel.

I don't know what to expect in the mountains.

Russian military vehicles crossing the border.

Explosions echoed throughout the capital.

And now Ukraine is under attack and calling on international help.

Many people are going underground, taking shelter.

It took everyone completely by surprise.

Milana woke up from the noise, and asked me if we were at war.

I told her, "No, Milana."

We had a basement in our building.

So I took food down there for her, and made sure she was dressed in warm clothes.

Where could we run?

Look, back there.

All journeys now lead west.

In days, the lives of millions upended.

Almost two million people have left the country.

At least 165,000 people have crossed into Slovakia.

Nearly all here mothers and their children.

She really went through a lot.

So much suffering. But thank God she and I were together.

Because, you know, she's my...

She's my everything, my sunshine, my ray of light.

She keeps me from getting bitter.

Well... to be honest, she keeps my soul young.

Milana, is this our bus?

Maybe we'll see someone we know.

- Oh, hello! Nice to meet you. - Hello. You're Olga, right?

- Hi! My name is Yana. - Olga, yes.

- My name's Milana. - Pleasure to meet you.

- And I'm Anya. - Hello.

Anya, it's nice to meet you.

- Shall we? - Go to your seat.

You're in the middle.

If you're there, where should I sit?

Okay, everyone! Put your hand up and say "cheese".

I'm taking a group picture.

- Cheese! - Cheese!

- Did you leave through Ukraine or Russia? - Through Ukraine.

- Are you from Mariupol too? - No, I'm from Kyiv.

- But we used to live in Crimea. - Well, yes.

We left before the Russian occupation.

Just look at those mountains.

It looks so pretty up there, I wanna climb it.

You think you'll be able to handle it? And everything else this week?

I can handle it.

Up!

Amazing. This is just for the two of us?

Oh, wow!

A new day, a new camp!

Milana, come meet somebody.

This here is my daughter, Viktoria.

Let me help you with that.

That's the place where you can practice, and the balance course is over there.

Thank you on behalf of our whole staff

for having the courage to come here.

My name is Nathan, uh, Nathan Schmidt, I helped found this organization.

But I'm not... I'm just one little piece of it.

There is a whole group of people all around here

that helped put this together,

and we're so glad that you made it.

How many people are excited about climbing this week?

- I am! - How many people are excited?

- Raise your hand, quickly! - I'm excited.

Keep walking it, keep walking!

This rope symbolizes resilience.

People who climb mountains, they're brave,

they know they're gonna face a challenge.

But we are so glad that you're here. We're so grateful.

- And it's gonna be a great week! -

Thank you!

- - Hey, don't forget your helmet!

You're the smallest one here, so you'll probably go first.

- Milana, give me your backpack. - I'll go after you.

I'm a little nervous.

Scary.

Scared? No.

Are you ready? There we go.

- Okay. - Yeah.

- Uh-huh. Got it. - Voilà!

Don't be afraid. There's a safety harness.

Sure, a safety harness.

I've seen a lot of accidents in the movies.

- I'm still scared. - Those movies are fake, though.

Here?

- Here? - Good.

That's it there, yeah.

You can just climb a little bit and then come down.

- I'm not doing it. I'll fall. - Don't be afraid.

- - Yana, good job!

Good job!

I'm not doing it.

- I wanna go home, I'm scared. - I understand you're scared.

- But this is the reason we're here. - I wanna go home!

Let's take a walk. Let's go.

- Let me go! - You can't take the helmet off.

I wanna go home right now.

- Back home. - Do you see the kids climbing up?

Milana, calm down.

It's okay.

- No one is forcing you to do it. - I wish I just stayed home.

It's okay, dear. Let's sit down.

It's all right.

- Everything's okay. - Thank you.

All is good. It's all right.

We'll talk.

Everything's all right. Here.

I don't want anybody to see me!

- You got it! Go! - Do it, Sasha!

Hey! Go, Sasha!

- You got it! - You got it!

When she starts crying...

- Yes. - ...it's best that at first,

you make her feel like you're there to support her.

- Then, you can give her space to be alone. - Yes, yes.

She's closed herself off from everybody.

She's become really shy.

She's ten years old now.

I tell her, "Milana, I remember when you used to be brave."

- Pre-teen years are definitely hardest. - Yeah. Yes, so true.

They have no self-confidence at all.

Yes, of course. They only learn from watching us.

God save us!

- Okay, big push! Jump! - I have to get up here somehow.

- Up! - Yeah!

Go on!

Good job! High five!

Yeah!

That's it.

Yes.

My grandma would never do this, not in her life.

Oh, oh, oh. Yes. Good.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah!

- Good job. Good job. - Thank God!

Well...

- Aah! - You did well!

- Good job! - Thank you.

- Good job! - Congratulations! You did so well.

- Milana, did you see? You saw it? - I'll put you on house arrest.

- For six years. Period. - Oh, wow!

Jeez.

Very good.

My hands are shaking. My heart's racing.

- Ouch, ouch... - Okay, I'm coming...

- Help me take it off. - Of course.

Let me help. Let's see...

Ouch! Be careful. Don't twist it. It's really hurting again.

Ouch!

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Ouch. Yeah.

It's because you've been walking so much.

Yeah.

This spot hurts again. Ouch.

It's either a cramp or something's wrong with my leg.

I think there's something wrong with the prosthetic that we can get fixed.

I'm going to bed.

" Black Saturday" is what Mariupol residents

are calling January 24th, 2015.

In this hell, Olga Ivanovna lost her daughter.

On that tragic day, Olga's daughter brought her child Milana to work.

She died in the attack, in front of her daughter.

Milana was later found in the rubble. Her leg had been crushed by debris.

Milana, dear, wake up.

When are we going for a walk?

Well, good morning.

Hello, sunshine!

It's a bad day.

- It's a good day. - It's bad.

We have the power to choose what mood we're in, my love.

Grandma, mind your business.

I know about my business.

- And I know mine. - Let's not make everyone wait for you.

You've had enough sleep.

Is it so bad that I just wanna brush my hair?

You know, maybe we shouldn't have come here.

You don't have to be rude.