Volunteering is about human stories that you let through yourself

Volunteering is about human stories that you let through yourself

04/10/2022

We continue to introduce you to the team of our volunteer headquarter – the community of the Medical Aid Committee in Zakarpattya, which organizes humanitarian cargo and helps to ensure that important things get into the right hands.


The second story is about Lesya Babiy from Uzhhorod. She is a philologist by profession and a private entrepreneur. Her path to cooperation with the CO "MACZ" began with her own volunteer initiatives. She has been a volunteer at the warehouse since March and is responsible for the circulation of hygiene products – from a truck from abroad to labeled boxes, then to formed humanitarian cargo to different parts of Ukraine or directly into the hands of people in need.

– When the war broke out, I helped to set up a place for IDPs to live in the premises of the "Hirchychne Zerno" lyceum. There I was responsible for providing the necessary things for everyday life. When the question of hygiene products arose, I came to this warehouse with a request. And it so happened that I stayed here to help.

Volunteering is a voluntary activity, but it very quickly turns into a daily job. In particular, it creates conditions for new acquaintances, unity of people…

– I found good friends in places I never expected. I think that if it were not for the circumstances, I wouldn’t have even crossed paths with these wonderful people, because before the war we were engaged in completely different activities. Also, while volunteering, not immediately, but you start to evaluate your own endurance – how long and how hard you can work. And when you have the opportunity to support those who are in a difficult situation, this endurance turns into your superpower.

A warehouse is a place where an incredible number of people pass through. We will tell about how it happened in the following materials. Among the visitors, there are stories that don’t leave anyone indifferent and seem to settle in the memory and heart forever.

– Once we were asked for help by a grandmother who had come to Uzhhorod from Kharkiv region. A 3-year-old girl unaccompanied by adults was next to the woman in the evacuation bus. So the child came to Zakarpattia with a stranger, but a caring person, and lived with her for almost six months while the search for her parents continued. It turned out that the girl’s mother had died and her father was working in Poland. Thanks to the volunteers and their connections abroad, the father was found, and now he is taking care of his daughter. I know that, unfortunately, there are a lot of such stories in Ukraine because of the war, but this one, heard firsthand, was very impressive.

Currently, Lesya’s volunteering with the Committee is her main job, but not the only one, as the family continues business activities and through it helps the military, in particular with car parts.

– The war caught our family in France, and we immediately returned to Ukraine. Now almost the whole family is involved in helping the military. Even my granddaughter used to make lemonades during the summer and sell them near our car shop to raise money for the army. We added her contribution to the purchase of a night vision device. I feel needed here and believe that by working together we are bringing victory and peace to Ukraine.

And here is the previous story about our helpers.

To be continued


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