by Anna BELOUSOVA

08 December 2009

Each and every of us has his or her own answer to the question “Why do people begin to volunteer?” The question “What prevents people from becoming volunteers?” became the main theme for discussion amongst members of the organizing committee for International Volunteer Day as early as October 2009. The committee was made up of representatives of the “Dobra Volya” NGO, PLAST, Alternative-B, AIESEC and UniStudy, as well as the UNV in Ukraine. The participants in that discussion reached the conclusion that the majority of those ready to volunteer simply do not know where to apply their efforts. As a result, the organizers decided to combine their efforts and their individual volunteer activities on 5 December into a grand two-day celebration all over Ukraine. In order not to limit the time or geographical scope of the celebration, the organizers invited the rest of the NGOs to step in with their proposals for ways to celebrate International Volunteer Day.

The campaign was entitled “The Volunteer Weekend” and lasted from Saturday 5 December until Sunday 6 December. Twenty-two associations and 855 volunteers came together to organize 24 volunteer events all over Ukraine.

There were a number of forums and round tables during the Volunteer Weekend. These provided an opportunity for representatives of various organizations to meet, share their experiences of volunteering and present their achievements in 2009, as well as plan their activities for 2010. In Ivankiv, a forum entitled “Find Yourself – Become a Volunteer” took place, during which youth and the officials of the Ivankiv District State Administration painted a joint portrait of a volunteer of the Ivankiv District and decided to create a District Youth Council.

At the same time, in the Cherkasy Region Youth Centre, a volunteers’ forum entitled “Plug In! Become a Volunteer!” took place. In addition to presenting awards to the participants, the volunteers conducted a poll for the city residents to find out whether they knew who the volunteers were in their city.

In Kyiv, the New Acropolis Association organized a round table presentation on “Volunteering in Action: Tendencies and Development Perspectives”, which was attended by 30 participants.

Olga Kosyanchuk, one of the round table participants, noted that “A number of participants mentioned that one of the key ways to develop volunteering in Ukraine is by combining our efforts. The spirit of altruism that is characteristic of volunteers inspires successful social work and mutual understanding between different people. As we all know, UNESCO announced 2010 to be the International Year of the Rapprochement of CulturesCulture Preservation. From our side, we’d like 2010 to become a year of closer connections and cooperation between volunteer organizations in Ukraine.”

However, the volunteer events did not only include meetings and discussion, which are, by all means, an important part of developing this movement. A number of volunteers spent their Volunteer Weekend with children who are in need of family circle. The activists of the New Acropolis Association gave an open lesson on the “Secrets of Microbiology” to the “Lyubystok” Orphanage. This lesson became an opportunity to enter the world of nature, to learn in a new and interesting way about the diversity of microorganisms, their useful and harmful characteristics, and, first and foremost, about the necessity of a healthy lifestyle and personal hygiene.

Another ecology event, “Plastic Planet”, took place on 6 December in the Children’s Help Centre “The City of Happy Children”. Together with the volunteers of the Youth Ecology Centre of the Dniprovsky Residential District, the children tried to find ways to prevent the pollution of the planet.

“We are very happy that this volunteer initiative gave the children new knowledge and drew their attention to the problems of ecology. We need to raise ecologically aware youth today if we want to prevent global ecology problems tomorrow,” said Oksana Sklyar, volunteer coordinator.

Four events during the Volunteer Weekend were devoted to the problem of stray pets. The 5th anniversary festival of alternative Ukrainian music “Musentropia” in Vinnytsya aimed to help the centre for pet sterilization, “Planet”. The musicians appealed to guests not to be indifferent to the problems of homeless animals and showed videos about the help volunteers have given to the centre. All money raised during the concert (around 8 thousand hryvnas) was spent on purchasing equipment for the centre.

While Vinnytsya residents were collecting money for homeless pets, activists from the Youth League of Animal Protection held their action “Into the New Year with a New Friend” in the very centre of the capital of Ukraine. During this event, a potential host could meet the animals (cared for by the League members) and one kitten even ended up finding a new home. Overall, 512 hryvnas were collected for homeless animals and a huge number of leaflets were given out.

In the Kyiv region, 16 guests from Kyiv visited more than 1500 cats and dogs that live in the Hostomel shelters of the Kyiv Association of Animal Protection and the Shelter of Charity Foundation “Sirius” (Vyshgorod District). Together with the shelter’s staff members, the volunteers helped to prepare the open area for winter and fixed the open-air cages and adjacent territories, as most of the dogs winter outdoors.

This list of good deeds could go on forever, but we’d like to finish it by quoting the text of a letter, which the children of Ignatpil Village of the Zhytomyr Regions sent in a balloon to all the volunteers of the world:

“Hello, volunteer!!!

If you want to have many friends, become a leader, take part in important and significant events, fill your life with interesting activities, develop yourself, set goals for the future… then this letter is for you!

Today, on 5 December, all young people celebrate International Volunteer Day! The Volunteers of Ignatpil Youth Centre (Zhytomyr Region) wish that all the volunteers of the world have a strong volunteer spirit to preserve the good on planet Earth, create a clean environment for the generations to come, and inspire creativity and happiness on International Volunteer Day! Volunteers are the best people on the planet – Join in!

The Street of Volunteers in Simferopol