{"id":177717,"date":"2022-04-29T11:32:29","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T08:32:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=177717"},"modified":"2022-05-15T15:55:39","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T12:55:39","slug":"front-of-volunteers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/front-of-volunteers","title":{"rendered":"Front of volunteers: community youth center in Nizhyn becomes humanitarian aid hub"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nizhyn is an old city in Chernihiv region that gained fame with the Cossack military traditions. In past centuries, the women of Nizhyn got a rare right to wear hats as they defended their land with weapons alongside men. Today, the national spirit and willingness to unite in difficult times are still alive in the city on the Oster River. Nizhyn stood at the forefront of resisting Russia\u2019s assault on Kyiv and the attempts to expand its attack further into the country. The local community did not stand aside.     <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the full-scale war began, the Nizhyn Community Youth Center was converted into a volunteer center. Here\u2019s our conversation with its director Anzhela Tymchenko, who\u2019s also the head of the board at NGO Laboratory of Youth Initiative.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Anzhela Tymchenko, the head of the board at NGO Laboratory of Youth Initiative <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

– Anzhela, what is the story behind a youth space in Nizhyn? How did it all begin? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– Active youth began to come together as I was working as a psychologist at the Nizhyn Center for Children and Youth. In 2018, we registered an NGO. We conducted a survey to understand what the youth\u2019s needs are. People ages 13 to 36 said there was a need to have a youth center where they could come without having to pay. An initiative group appealed to the mayor of Nizhyn Oleksandr Kodola asking to create a community youth center. We received letters of support from the Ministry of Youth and Sports, and the Association of Youth Centers of Ukraine. Our campaign went on for three months. We advocated for a center trying to convince the members of the city council. Finally they voted in favor of our proposal. The community youth center was registered in May 2019.      <\/p>\n\n\n\n

– The Center is located in an old Greek building in the historic center of Nizhyn. How was the renovation funded?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– We used grant money to set up the center. We also applied for funding offered by the Program \u201cBuilding Ukraine Together\u201d. We renovated the center as part of the program\u2019s two-week youth camp.     <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Managerial team and volunteers of the hub<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

– As the war began, the center added a new title, a hub. What does it do?   <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– In the early days of Russia\u2019s onslaught, together with an NGO we created a volunteer hub based on the youth community center. We redirected the grant money for social action projects provided to the NGO by the British Council and the British Embassy in Ukraine to help the military and affected civilians. We purchased and sent them mats, thermoses, blankets, medicines, hygiene items, stationery, and food. The center began to apply for grants from UNDP and UNICEF. We launched the Spivdiia Hub on March 22.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Volunteers sort medicines<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

– What is the initiative about?<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

– That\u2019s a joint program of the Office of the President, Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Youth and Sports, Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, charity \u201cBelieve in Yourself\u201d, and the program \u201cMriemo ta Diemo\u201d (We Dream and Act). They partnered to help civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ministry of Youth and Sports addressed the center, and we registered the Spivdiia Hub Nizhyn. Humanitarian aid supplies arrive from other regions of Ukraine. Volunteers unload, sort, and pack them. They distribute the supplies to internally displaced persons, families with many children, military, and seniors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n