'A great blessing': Noah Bock of Temperance worked with Ukrainian children in Poland

Noah Bock witnessed Ukrainian children’s suffering up close.

Bock, 21, of Temperance spent nearly two weeks this summer in Poland, working with young Ukrainian refugees.

A senior at the University of Michigan, he is member of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Catholic Church and Mount Carmel Council 8902, Knights of Columbus.

Bock was one of 24 volunteers at a youth camp at the Saint John Paul II Polish Center in Krakow, Poland, about 160 miles from Ukraine. Bock worked with 7- to 9-year-old boys, but the program was for 50 youths ages 5 to 14. Refugees ages 14 to 18 helped at the camp.

“They were refugees from all over Ukraine. Some in my group were from Odesa to the east, close to Russia. The others were from around Ukraine. They were removed from their homeland. Some were living with Polish families,” Bock said. “Most had been there from the early days of the war."

While he didn’t see war, Brock said he certainly saw its effects.

“The effects on the children were very clear. They would (talk about the war) if you asked them, but never voluntarily. I never saw a father. It was always a mom dropping off the kids or sometimes a grandma. Sometimes both parents were fighting in the war. Some kids hadn’t been able to get into school yet. They were sort of developmentally and behaviorally falling far behind," Bock said. "I was really excited for the opportunity to serve in whatever small way I could. The kids were in need of something like that. It was just a great blessing to spend some time with them.”

The camp was an English language immersion experience. Bock was aided by a translator, who was a Ukrainian refugee himself.

“He came around with my group and helped me out. I wouldn’t have gotten very far without him,” Bock said. “Some of the kids didn’t speak any English. That was the goal of the camp: Come and learn English. It was a religious-based camp, so we had faith formation. We read Bible verses; we asked their experiences with God. They were very young and had a childlike view of God that was wonderful."

Bock and the boys also played a lot of games.

“I was there three days before to prepare for the camp. We came up with the activities. We played basic games that you might teach kindergarteners in the U.S. We played Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and Simon Says. They loved soccer and Frisbee," Bock said.

The camp was first held the previous summer.

“A group of U.S. volunteers went there and planned it from the ground up. Some were teachers, some were in the field, some were college students. Everyone sort of brought their gifts,” Bock said.

Bock found the camp counselor application online and applied.

“There is a big demand. I wasn’t accepted at first and was put on a wait list. Then a spot opened,” Bock said.

He had to raise a minimum of $400 to go to the camp, but volunteers were given a fundraising goal of $2,500 to also cover travel. K of C Council 8902 gave $1,000. Bock raised about $2,300 in all.

Bock made the 10-hour flight alone. He wasn’t concerned about traveling to a war-torn region.

“My mother certainly was,” Bock said. “I went to El Salvador for a brief service trip two years ago. This was by far the farthest trip I've taken."

Bock, a 2020 graduate of Bedford High School, is studying public policy and economy at U-M, where he leads a men’s group and is a reader and altar server at St. Mary Student Parish.

The son of Jeff and Kay Bock of Temperance, he has two younger siblings, Paige and Gabe. His dad and brother also are K of C members.

Bock joined K of C when he turned 18. As a high school student, he entered the Knights of Columbus' Catholic Citizenship Essay contest. His essay, “The meaning of virtue and how you live and embody the virtue of charity,” won at the international level. Today, Bock helps with the Temperance K of C’s website.

“The entire Bock family is active at of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Parish,” Phil Wesley from the Temperance K of C Council said.

Noah’s trip to Poland is featured in the October issue of Knights of Columbus' “Columbia Magazine.”

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“I learned more from them than they learned from me," Bock said about his campers. "Younger people just have a way of looking at the world that’s very simple and very pure. It’s inspiring to see that in children who have been exposed to a situation that’s anything but simple and anything but pure. I encourage people to remember the humanity of everyone involved. These are real things that are happening, real kids who being traumatized on the scale of millions. That’s pretty sobering to think about. You certainly don’t have to go to Poland. There’s a similar situation now in Israel and Gaza with hundreds of thousands of more refugees. It becomes more about people and less about politics."

To learn more about the camp or to donate to the Saint John Paul II Polish Center, visit polishcenter.org.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Noah Bock of Temperance worked with Ukrainian children in Poland