Svitlana Sukach is a volunteer, a psychologist in the project “Social and psychological support of Ukrainians in Germany” from the Malteser organization and a consultant (psychologist) in the project “Teenergizer” for teenagers and young people. Volunteering became a profession for the girl .
Previously, Svitlana was the coordinator of the volunteer community in Kyiv, a leader-representative of Ukraine at Good Deeds Day Ukraine, a volunteer in civil organizations.
– Tell about your path in volunteering. Where did you start?
– My path in volunteering began back in 2014, but it was not a very conscious experience. Because there was no understanding of the importance and value of the work performed by the organizers of volunteer events, accordingly, I, as a volunteer, did not have it either. The organizers just had to do it for the sake of doing it. I did not like this and did not respond. There was even a period when I really thought that it was not mine, but it turned out that I was very wrong 🙂 As volunteers, we were not given enough support, instructions to work and the attitude was quite “consumer”, which in my opinion is not acceptable at all. After all, volunteering is a conscious choice and manifestation of a person’s will. And we cannot take it for granted. Therefore, after going through a lot with different organizations, I set myself a goal – to lead one of these organizations and try myself in the place of a person who does good things with the help of other people, and everyone remains satisfied.
I can mention the following cool initiatives:
https://dobrodiy.club/ – a cool project that helps children.
https://happypaw.ua/ua – are now very active and cooperate with various well-known Ukrainian brands and marketplaces to spread information about pets, that need help. They also did educational activities for children at school, shared information about their organization and told how every child, together with his family, can join good causes.
These are the projects that always inspired me and gave me the opportunity to introduce something new to my volunteering activities, find cool initiatives and join them. Therefore, I advise you to familiarize yourself with it 🙂
– How did volunteering change with the start of a full-scale invasion?
– Now the priority has completely changed and it has become obvious – aid to the front, fighters, displaced persons, etc. And here, first of all, we can talk about the psychological aspect and people’s conditions, which also influenced volunteering. There were 2 states in people: the first are those who immediately started helping and were very active; the second – who could not do it and did not do it because they did not feel the strength and resources in themselves.
– How did you experience the first days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine?
To be honest, I was personally confused on the first day.
I was abroad for work at the time of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine. My first thoughts were that I can’t help at all now and I should give myself some time to adapt. But I saw and personally know people who immediately started helping someone with something – informationally, physically or materially.
It took me about a week to come to my senses and be useful again in another country and help our refugees. Then I opened an online psychological support therapy group for my volunteers and those who needed it. And it turns out that I saved my resource by allowing my psyche to adapt to events. That’s why I can still be useful. Often, those who immediately suppressed their fears, anger, sadness, any other emotions and went into volunteering quickly became exhausted. Because the psyche was in shock from stress and lack of certain adaptation. Therefore, at first we could observe a strong rise in volunteering, then a decline (the end of the active phase), then a rise again. And now it’s such a wave-like trend, but it’s there, and everyone is doing what they can. It’s great!
Про волонтерство в Украіні
Зараз майже всі волонтерські процеси – вони про масштаб та велику згуртованість. Українці це дуже класно виявляють, що разом ми можемо взагалі все. Волонтерський та благодійний рух із кожним днем зростає та розвивається. Люди роблять неймовірні речі – оперативно допомагають, знаходять шляхи вирішення запитів, і це все в умовах стресу. Тому планка волонтерства в Україні вийшла на абсолютно новий рівень, що складно порівняти з якимось іншим. Я впевнена, що як раніше вже не буде. Буде по-іншому та буде краще, більше, потужніше.
Previously, all the projects that I created and led within the framework of my volunteer community concerned children, animals and elderly people. We did something for children from low-income families, for orphans, cooperated with shelters, helped them, visited and supported grandparents living alone or those with health problems (cannot walk, etc.). It was about 15-20 projects that we planned for a year and regularly carried out several projects a month. If I were to plan a year now, the priorities would most likely be the same, but the filling of the projects is completely different, deeper. And, of course, help would be added to the victims of the terrible war.
– What have you noticed in common or different in volunteering in Ukraine and abroad?
The most interesting thing that I have seen while abroad is that the topic of volunteering here is more than the norm. And they are very proud of their status, they do it selflessly. Almost every person here is a volunteer, activist or public figure and it is normal for them to engage in volunteer activities on their day off – free from work and affairs. What, in fact, cannot be said about Ukraine. Although I really believe that it will change, and it is already changing before our eyes.
Being a volunteer is prestigious abroad.
Being a volunteer is prestigious abroad. This is one of the key topics of discussion on small talk 🙂 This is how people express themselves, try themselves in different directions and learn about themselves as a person by helping others. It’s very cool! My philosophy is almost the same, that volunteering is a place where you can try yourself in different roles and acquire new skills, knowledge and abilities for yourself and your future.
What is different abroad, the attitude towards volunteers is different, more respectful. But this is my personal experience and it may differ from the experience of others. I worked in the “Good Deeds Day” team, where there were representatives and managers from Europe and the world. I have always seen with what respect and honor volunteers are treated, how they strive to support and encourage them. This always motivated me a lot and I tried to transfer these positive examples to my work.
– Are you familiar with the international standards of volunteering? Are they really relevant or are they conditional and have no practical value?
If we are talking about the “General Declaration on Volunteering” from 2001, then yes. And they, in my opinion, are relevant. Because it states the basic things that can be quite clear and obvious for most of us.
(The Declaration enshrines the principles of activity: recognition of the right to volunteer for all men, women and children, regardless of their race, religion, physical characteristics, relevant social and material status; respect for the dignity and culture of all people; provision of assistance, free services personally or organized in the spirit of partnership and brotherhood; recognizing the equal importance of personal and collective needs, contributing to their collective provision; turning volunteering into an element of acquiring new knowledge and skills, improving abilities, while stimulating the initiative and creativity of people, giving everyone the opportunity to be a creator, not a user, observer.)
All possible standards are, in fact, just a foundation for further development. After all, having an understanding of the basic concepts and why and how everything should work – it is easier to build a certain system. Of course, each organization may have its own exceptions and nuances, but nevertheless, generally speaking, it is a common practice to implement standards to regulate volunteering.
– Do all volunteers comply with the standards of activity?
Working with people is really not always easy and cool, especially in volunteer activities.
Some people come with a selfish purpose, that is, they are interested only in their own goals (we are not talking about altruism), namely, to also “have something” from volunteering: rewards (material), PR and others. But everyone knows or should know how the term “volunteering” is defined in Ukraine. The Law of Ukraine “On Volunteering” defines it as a voluntary non-profit socially oriented activity carried out by volunteers through the provision of volunteer assistance (free work and services). Sometimes people forget about it or don’t know it at all, and problems arise on this basis.
Volunteers were always pre-interviewed, and also as needed during volunteering, if a person suddenly lost interest or did not contact for a certain time – then this could be a problem. After all, volunteering is also about responsibility. Therefore, it was important to respect each other’s time and take responsibility for the work you decided to do.
– What are your personal standards of volunteering?
I already have them professionally formed, so I will note specifically from the volunteer center/community coordinator:
- To be on the same page with volunteers. In the process of volunteering, when you lead the position of “coordinator”, the task is still to be in the process, not to stand aside, but to be included, coordinate, prompt and guide. So that the volunteers feel comfortable and speak the same language with you.
- Treat each volunteer as an individual. This is necessary in order to understand which volunteer can be involved in which type of activity. Someone likes to help animals more, someone likes to help children, the elderly or the military – that’s normal. A person should not combine helping absolutely everyone. The best result will be if the person is “in his place”, so there will be more benefit from the process. Because a person will work not at the expense of his resources and for pleasure.
- Do volunteer activities according to the call of the heart and of your own free will, without coercion and social pressure.
- Mandatory preliminary interview with the volunteer regarding his experience, wishes, why he wants to volunteer and how we can be useful to each other, how much time the volunteer is willing to devote to activities, etc.
- Be honest with yourself: why and why do I volunteer/ what can I give and take from this experience/ how exactly can I be useful?
– Should volunteers in Ukraine improve and study the standards of activity?
Definitely yes. In my opinion, it should be a constant process of improvement. Our volunteering sector is not as developed as it could be. Indeed, after 2014 volunteer communities and volunteers became more and more and mainly solved and closed the needs at the front for the military, upon request. And now, after the full-scale invasion, a new wave of active volunteerism has also followed. Therefore, this resource should not be lost, but strengthened.
Understanding the base and foundation makes it easier to build supports and move forward.
I was a speaker at Volunteer Community’s “Volunteer School”, and this is the place where new volunteers are told how this system works. What skills and abilities should be there for comfortable volunteering, how to work with different social groups and also talk about certain standards, code of ethics and other interesting things that are useful both for those who are just starting their volunteering activities and for experienced volunteers.
– How do you see volunteering in Ukraine going forward? Will the tendency to help others die out?
A very interesting question, because everything depends on us, no matter how it sounds. If people learn to use their internal resources correctly, everything can be good. Because you don’t have to volunteer at a “minus” for yourself, because later it can lead, at a minimum, to burnout, and at the most, to a rejection of volunteering in general.
This trend can disappear due to the lies of dishonest volunteers or volunteer organizations that deceive people. Because it nullifies people’s desire to help, because there will be no trust (globally). There are many such cases and, unfortunately, even during the war.
But I always believe in the best and therefore I believe that the war will shine a light on volunteerism as a very valuable human resource. And later, all this is transformed into something new.
In my dreams, volunteering in Ukraine in the future will be very prestigious both for volunteers from other countries and for us. Our country and volunteer assets will be set as an example, as a model of devotion.
I want to believe in the best and in the awareness of our people. Because our people are really incredible.
