Neal Walker: Volunteering in Ukraine on par with EU, but needs support from the government

By Neal Walker.
Students of the free Ukrainian language courses attend a class taught by a volunteer in Kyiv on Nov. 5 Volunteering is on the rise in Ukraine, and has reached the European average, writes UN Resident Coordinator Neal Walker.
Photo by Volodymyr Petrov

  

In December every year, the world celebrates “Volunteer Day” in recognition of the hard work and the contribution made by millions of volunteers around the world. In my short time in Ukraine, I have seen and admired the amazing work done by so many Ukrainian volunteers. Ukraine is facing serious challenges.

The
conflict in the east carries all of the traditionally tragic results
of war: people displaced, social budget diverted to defense,
psychological impact on citizens, etc. In addition, the Government
must rapidly take the actions necessary to meet the demands of
citizens for accountable, transparent and effective Governance.

How
do we define success, how do we achieve it, against such challenges?
To begin with, Ukrainian citizens must aspire and work to live in a
peaceful, prosperous and united Ukraine. Towards such an objective,
Government alone cannot succeed. Citizens must step forward, must
volunteer their services in any way they are able to do so, in order
to create the society citizens want. This is what volunteerism is all
about: taking personal action where you, as a citizen, perceive a
need, and doing what you can do, as an individual.

Reflecting
on the challenge, I thought it worthwhile to highlight the
substantive importance of volunteerism in the national context of
Ukraine.

Volunteers prepare bags of potatoes at a Red Cross center before distributing them to citizens in the key southeastern port city of Mariupol, on Sept. 8, 2014.

First,
more volunteers! The
survey supported by the United Nations, the Government and Civil
Society organizations highlights the fact that Ukraine is
historically and culturally rich in volunteerism. That is great, but
how does volunteerism in Ukraine compare to other countries?
Approximately 23 percent of Ukrainians surveyed have volunteer
experience, the same rate for the European Union as a whole.

However,
many countries have higher volunteer rates. In Canada and the United
Kingdom, 47 percent and 41 percent of the population, respectively,
volunteer regularly. In Australia, Denmark, Finland and Germany,
between 30 percent and 39 percent of the population do voluntary
work. The circumstances in Ukraine suggest we urgently consider ways
to increase volunteerism.

Let’s
highlight the fact that volunteerism strengthens the well- being of
people. Not
surprisingly, studies document that people who volunteer are happier
and they live longer lives. Why is this so? Volunteerism brings out
our compassion and gives a deep sense of connectedness.

I
am confident, based on my personal experience, that volunteerism also
contributes to peace and tolerance. Interestingly, 80 percent of
those surveyed in Ukraine felt the same way! Promoting peace and
tolerance constitute crucial objectives, right now, for every
Ukrainian.

Ukrainian army soldier Oleg Berezovsky, 24, who lost his both hands during the armed clash of army forces with Kremlin-backed separatists in Donetsk Oblast, says he never expected so much moral and material help from volunteers in the Kyiv Military Hospital.

Let
us recognize then, the importance of volunteerism: a powerful engine
that can contribute effectively to personal well-being and national
objectives of unity, peace and tolerance.

Third,
we need the proper legislative and legal framework for volunteerism
to be successful.
I would like to encourage the newly inaugurated Verkhovna
Rada
to support
the bill on amendments to the existing Law “On Volunteering
Activity” which was drafted by civil society organizations. The
country desperately needs transparent criteria and
procedures regarding tax exemption for volunteering activity.
A relatively innovative idea in Ukraine is SMS-based charity
fundraising which should also be considered for legislative tax
relief. 

Fourth,
volunteerism is mostly invisible in GDP measures but is a powerful
economic force.
In
Canada, volunteering and direct giving had a combined economic value
of 3.7% of GDP in 2010. In monetary terms, Canadians volunteered for
an equivalent of $51 billion in unpaid hours. Wow: can you imagine
the equivalent impact in Ukraine, in this time of economic crisis?

Volunteers, members of the so-called “Babushka Battalion” walk to the Military Hospital in Kyiv bringing clothes and homemade food for the wounded soldiers on Aug. 13.

I
firmly believe that volunteerism:

Is
a powerful means of engaging people in the development of their
communities;

It
strengthens individual well-being, peace, tolerance and national
unity;

Adds
up to much more than the contribution of the individual that
volunteers.

In
conclusion, the underlying values of volunteerism are crucial to
moving Ukraine towards a better and more sustainable future. In the
national circumstances, political will and support from the
international community will not be sufficient for successful
transformation of the country: people must not only participate in
but also voluntarily lead the change.

Neal
Walker is
the Resident Coordinator for the United Nations in Ukraine.

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