With the start of a full-scale war, volunteering has become a part of the lives of many Ukrainians. Volunteers from Chuguiv know what it's like to help, get involved, care, pull people out of trouble, and simply be there.
Before the start of the full-scale war, a volunteer center operated in Chuhuiv. Some of the volunteers joined the ranks of the defenders of Ukraine after February 2022, while others left for safer regions. And recently, a new volunteer center was created on the basis of the Center for Resilience - the NGO "Volunteers of the Chuhuiv Community.".
«"We did a lot of work, collected information about the volunteers of our community, everyone who helped in 2022 and 2023 and who stayed here. We collected information about who was involved in volunteer activities - helping the elderly, bringing food, medicine, helping with evacuation, weaving camouflage nets, making trench candles, knitting warm clothes for the military, rescuing homeless animals. Residents grouped together and put their efforts into the good of the community," says Viktoriya Koroshchupova, director of the Center for Social Services of the Chuhuiv City Council.
More and more people came to the volunteer meetings at the Center for Resilience each time. Each volunteer told their story and how they helped the community.
«"And after these meetings, our volunteers united and became friendlier. We invited the NGO "Agency for Local Initiatives" to join us. Its representative, Oleg Kulinich, held a training event on the creation and registration of NGOs," adds Viktoriya Koroshchupova.
The space of the Resilience Center in Chuhuiv was equipped as part of a joint initiative between UNICEF in Ukraine and the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.
The project to develop Resilience Centers in Ukraine is being implemented by the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine and is part of the All-Ukrainian mental health program "How are you?" of First Lady Olena Zelenska.
The UNICEF Ukraine project to support and develop Resilience Centers in the Kharkiv region is implemented by the NGO "All-Ukrainian Public Center "Volonter" with financial support from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development through the German Development Bank (KFW) and the Government of Sweden.
