Every contact matters: how volunteers provide assistance at UzhNU
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, workers and students of Uzhhorod National University have been actively involved in volunteering to strengthen the country's defense capabilities, provide humanitarian aid and support to displaced persons. An important component of this work is the coordination of the aid coming from abroad and its delivery to those who need it most.
"We communicate with our foreign partners as well as with other organizations abroad that want to help Ukraine and send humanitarian aid to Uzhhorod," says Oksana Svezhentseva, the head of Uzhhorod National University's international relations department. "We send letters of inquiry to our partners, taking into account the main area of their activity, we prepare indicative lists of the necessary things, bearing in mind the interests of internally displaced persons and all other people who need support.
“Recently, we have received significant aid from UNDP in Ukraine, International Organization for Migration / IOM UN Migration, Umbrella Association (Switzerland), Tara Oasului Association for Support and Development of Communities (Romania), Branch of the Union of Ukrainians in Satu Mare (Romania), Vasile Goldish Arad University (Romania), the Grand Orchestra of Festive Aid (Poland), the Association of Immigrants of the Ukrainian Diaspora in Gondomar (Portugal), the International Organization "Doctors Without Borders" and others".
Humanitarian aid contains mattresses, blankets, pillows, mats, medicines, medical equipment, hygiene items, food, including baby food and other basic necessities.
In the last 7 days alone, Uzhhorod National University sent a significant amount of humanitarian aid to Kharkiv, Radomyshl, Irpin, Vasylkiv, Chernihiv, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, Kyiv, Slovyansk, and the Kotsyubynske village council of the Bucha district of Kyiv region. The head of the Center for Humanitarian and Educational Work, Vocational Guidance and Employment of Uzhhorod National University Mariia Yatskiv says: “Most often we send food for adults and children, hygiene items, diapers, medicines, blankets. People usually send letters of request to the rector and we prepare what we have in accordance with those requests."
Anna Melehanych, the head of the Resource Center for Sustainable Development and associate professor at the Faculty of History and International Relations, informs about the aid delivered to different parts of Ukraine: “We receive many requests for aid. Recently, we have delivered aid to the elderly care facility in Vasylkiv Territorial Community. We have also sent humanitarian aid to local residents and local territorial defense units. "
Since the first days of the war, the dormitories of our university have become shelters for IDPs. Around 2,000 people are living there now. "We stay in touch with the managers of the dormitories and we know all the urgent needs and try to meet them as soon as possible. Three times a week we send a car with packages for each dormitory: containing personal hygiene items, food, clothes, detergents and disinfectants, bed linen, electrical appliances. We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to our friends, acquaintances, other volunteers who help to buy or find all the necessary things for a comfortable stay of people," says rector’s assistant Kristina Tovt.
"We sincerely believe that with the support of our loyal foreign partners and friends, we will be able to go through the dark times in the lives of all the citizens of Ukraine," they say at UzhNU.
