Volunteers have been a driving force for positive change in Ukraine, and quite a few of them have been foreigners.
In Kyiv, thousands volunteered to organize the EuroMaidan Revolution’s protest camps, feed the demonstrators and provide medical care to those who clashed with the riot police. After 100 days of demonstrations, the protesters reached their goal of overthrowing the Kremlin-backed President Viktor Yanukovych on Feb. 22, 2014.
In the following months, Russia used the ensuing turmoil to invade Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula and start a war in the eastern Donbas. So volunteers stepped in again to support and equip the Ukrainian armed forces. Some joined the fighting as part of volunteer battalions.
In those crucial months, a culture of volunteerism ignited in Ukraine. From the frontlines, it spread to Ukrainian cities to help those affected by the war, especially internally displaced persons and veterans. Organizations popped up to help the sick and the elderly, educate youth and protect animals and the environment.
In 2017, activists in Odesa created the Ukrainian Volunteer Service, which brings together people who want to volunteer and do-gooder organizations that need them. Currently, UVS works with some 4,000 volunteers and helps over 50 nonprofit organizations every month.
While most of these nonprofits want their volunteers to speak Ukrainian or Russian, some can benefit from English-speaking foreign volunteers. UVS helped The Kyiv Post select charities that welcome expatriates living in Kyiv for different kinds of volunteering.
Sign up as a volunteer with the Ukrainian Volunteer Service at www.volunteer.country/registration.
Education
Go Global is a nonprofit that runs Go Camp, a project bringing hundreds of volunteers from around the world to teach English, French or German to children in schools all over Ukraine during three weeks in the summer. The volunteers get to discover the country and live with a Ukrainian host family.
Besides the summer language camp, the nonprofit also runs Go Camp Afterschool, an extracurricular program where foreign volunteers can teach English and other classes year-round in schools around Ukraine. Expatriates living in Kyiv and other cities can join such classes in the participating schools closest to where they live.
Contact Go Global at [email protected].
Vy. Mova is an English program similar to Go Camp Afterschool, but it currently runs only in the villages of the Kuyalnyk territorial community in the north of Odesa Oblast.
Vy. Mova was created by a team of educators who develop innovative approaches to teaching and want their English-language volunteers to become mentors that inspire their students. Volunteering with Vy. Mova could be perfect for expatriates living in Odesa Oblast or those who want to travel there.
Contact Vy. Mova at [email protected].
Activists and their dogs march at the rally for animal rights organized by UAnimals non-profit organization on Sept. 15, 2019. (Oleg Petrasiuk)
Humanitarian help
Tabletochki charity fund helps children with cancer and their families in Ukraine. Its foremost objective is raising money to buy medicine and treatment for the kids but it also supports them and their families psychologically with art therapy classes, workshops, parties and other activities.
For this purpose, Tabletochki invites volunteers who can engage with children to make their time in Kyiv’s cancer treatment centers more enjoyable. Communication is the key, so volunteers are expected to speak Ukrainian or Russian. A coordinator at the fund told the Kyiv Post that they may create English classes for these kids, so native speakers would be more welcome to join.
Contact Tabletochki at [email protected].
Starenki charity fund buys food and groceries for single retirees in Kyiv and Dnipro who can’t afford to do so with their pension. The volunteers for the fund can deliver the packages, have tea with the elderly clients and otherwise engage with them.
An operational director at the fund told the Kyiv Post that they welcome foreign volunteers to join. If they don’t speak Ukrainian or Russian, they can deliver the packages with a local volunteer. The single retirees would appreciate the attention and any communication with people from abroad.
Contact Starenki at [email protected].
Environment, animals
Ecoaction (Ekodiya) is a nonprofit that advocates for environmental protection and renewable energy. It brings together experts and activists to develop environmentally friendly solutions for the government and local communities and aims to develop “an active eco-community.”
Ecoaction’s coordinator told the Kyiv Post that they welcome foreign volunteers to help edit their English-language publications and find information from international sources. Ecoaction also holds regular speaking club meetings where volunteers share information, practice their English and discussion skills.
Contact Ecoaction at [email protected].
UAnimals is another nonprofit that promotes humane treatment of animals and advocates for the prohibition of animal exploitation in circuses and other forms of entertainment in Ukraine. UAnimals has organized rallies and marches for animal rights.
The organization welcomes foreign volunteers and says that the format of volunteer’s engagement depends on his or her abilities and enthusiasm.
Contact UAnimals at [email protected].
Sirius is the largest shelter for homeless dogs and cats in Ukraine. The shelter actively tries to find homes for its animals and vaccinates and sterilizes pets for low-income families.
Sirius, located some 60 kilometers from Kyiv, welcomes any volunteers who can help with the most graceful job — taking the dogs for walks to help them socialize. There is also a lot of help needed with chores around the shelter and some construction work.
Visit Sirius in the village of Fedorivka in Vyshhorod Region of Kyiv Oblast on Tue, Fri, Sat and Sun from 11 a. m. to 4 p. m. Contact at [email protected]. A Facebook group organizes group trips to the shelter at www.facebook.com/groups/trip.sirius/.
