Ski Trip 2025 Report

Feb. 28 through March 2nd was a great weekend of skiing, cooking, eating, playing games, sauna, and hot tub hosted by Maya for the children of Peeteli Social Center. All eleven kids, half who had never skied before, conquered the mountain by the end of the day. They learned to fall and get right back up, something useful in every part of life. And of course they also learned about food. This time: the food of Holland. 

Maya's favorite Dutchman, Chef de Cuisine Gijs Schellings, was on hand to teach the kids about Dutch cuisine and culture. The kids' favorite foods were poffertjes (mini pancakes), stroopwafels (caramel waffles), and snert (pea soup). The kids helped prepare the food, and after dinner they learned a bit about Dutch culture. (Fun fact: the Dutch eat more licorice per capita than anyone else in the world, approximately two kilos per person. Gijs eats even more.)

A few mentions of the people and places that made the weekend possible. Thanks to Mati and Valeria with Peeteli (https://peeteli.com/en/home/) for their leadership and their trust in Maya and its team. Thanks to Gijs, who gave huge amounts of his time and energy to make sure the event ran smoothly. And a tip of the hat to Egert for both time and his gift for building relationships with the kids. Also to Jane, Uko, and Scott for coming out to ski with the kids. And thanks to the Kiviõli Adventure Park (https://seikluskeskus.ee/en/) for the mountain and gear, and the Karukella Holiday House (https://karukella.ee/en/) with its spacious rooms, sauna, and hot tub that are fast becoming a Maya tradition.

Thank you to everyone involved and to all those who support the Maya Initiative's work. Or "Ontzettend bedankt!" as the honorary Dutchmen say.