I first heard about Depaul Ukraine quite accidentally,
from a friend of mine when searching for an internship for me. Little did I
know this was the beginning of an extremely interesting and gripping time in my
life, full of mysteries yet to be explored, and a time for which I would be
ever grateful.
My volunteering in the Hope House project in Korotich started
early fall 2013. That’s when I first met the women living there with their
babies and the nuns, Sisters Renata and Camilla, who take the greatest part in
organizing the women’s lives and running the house.
The role my fellow volunteers and I played was very
simple: talking to the women, organizing development activities for their
children, and playing with them while their mothers are busy around the house. It
sounds like an ordinary thing to do; however, it was difficult to break the ice
between us and the women and their children.
Put yourself in their shoes. Just imagine you’re a
young woman who is about to have a baby or just had one. All of your thoughts,
feelings and hopes are around this child. What kind of personality is he or she
going to have? What school will he or she attend? How will I make him or her
happy and healthy? ...But a rainy day
arrives and the only question you are asking yourself is: how will we survive? Being
left without a roof over one’s head, without any means of support, especially
in Ukraine, can be frightening, paralyzing. It goes without saying that being
in such a difficult spot can discourage, deject and even traumatize you, as
well as, your beloved child. You may be prone to distrust everybody, even volunteers
who only want to help you.
For me, as a volunteer, the memory of their
distrustful eyes, eyes, full of angst that we might hurt them, is engrained in
my memory.
So we, as volunteers working with such disadvantaged
people, had to do our best to break the ice and build trust. And we did it:
while at first the mothers kept a worried eye on us when we were playing with
their children, in time, they easily left them with us. Further, we developed a
friendship with them. And the thing I find the most critical was that they
shared their life stories with us. This was of notice with the children as
well: the fear and lack of confidence disappeared, and they introduced their
own games to us. They wanted us to be their friends. Success! Their mothers
laid bare their hearts and confided in us their inmost thoughts. We were once strangers,
“other” people.
It’s a noteworthy fact that speaking your problems and
anxieties takes away the burden from your mind and heart, and eventually you
simply become a happier person. In fact, this was our very purpose to achieve
as volunteers. And I went to that house in Korotich knowing that all those
people are my friends, so this delighted me as well.
Depaul Ukraine helps make an important difference in the
lives of others. Not only it provides dwelling, food, and professional
psychological assistance, but it also shortens the painful gulf between the
disadvantaged people and other members of their community. So, the thing I
liked the most is that it was really very easy to realize this goal, and unequivocally
satisfying to have shown these people that they are an integral part of my
world. This is what makes us, Ukrainians, a stronger, friendlier and more
people-oriented nation.
Vasylisa
Volunteer, Depaul Ukraine
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