{"id":296794,"date":"2024-05-30T13:45:45","date_gmt":"2024-05-30T10:45:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/golosy-regioniv-30-05"},"modified":"2024-06-03T11:22:54","modified_gmt":"2024-06-03T08:22:54","slug":"golosy-regioniv-30-05","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/golosy-regioniv-30-05","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t stay away"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

There is a Latin expression: \u201cEt qui amisit adjuvat\u201d. It literally translates as: \u201cHe who has lost helps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the modern sense, this saying can be translated as an expression describing a separate branch of volunteering. Not a generalized movement or a social stratum as a whole, but describing volunteers who became such not \u201cthanks to\u201d, but \u201cdespite the fact that…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is about people who once lived in the now occupied territories. About people who became volunteers after losing their homes, streets, entire cities in the war…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And very often, these are young people with almost half of their lives marked by the seal of war – from 2014 to the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of these volunteers is Yulia Kanzeba. She is from Popasna, the Luhansk region. Since 15, the girl has known what war is like. It came to her home in 2014. After the full-scale invasion began, Yulia activated her resources and contacts as a journalist, in order not only to describe the war, but also to volunteer: to \u2018close\u2019 a large number of monthly fundraisings for our defenders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read Yulia\u2019s story written by Maryna Tereshchenko<\/strong>, a journalist from the Luhansk region.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From war to war<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2014, Yulia, a schoolgirl from Popasna, a small but very comfortable town that can be walked around in an hour, was 15.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPopasna is my heart…\u201d says Yulia. \u201cIn 2014, when the war started, I quickly learned what \u201chit\u201d, \u201cstrike\u201d, \u201chail\u201d, \u201cshelling\u201d, \u201c200\u201d, \u201c300\u201d meant, and began to take an interest in military and war-related topics. When the Russians shelled my town, it was scary… Residential buildings, the whole town were simply razed to the ground.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The girl recalls how the city recovered after 2014: roads were quickly built, murals and a fountain appeared; square, parks, and gardens were arranged, \u201cI love Popasna\u201d and \u201cI love Ukraine\u201d signs were installed, new establishments opened…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe war was present in the town over the last few years, because every day we heard something flying to the positions. But despite this, Popasna tried to develop and flourish. In Popasna, they cared about people\u2019s comfort. That\u2019s why my place of strength, so to speak, is the whole town and not something in particular,\u201d says the volunteer. \u201cI loved going to the forest or sitting on the bank of the pond in Zaliznychnyky Park, or walking in the ravine near Gymnasium No. 25, where I used to study. There are such beautiful views! And what delicious coffee they had in Kava Plus! Dropping in there was a tradition for me.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Yulia recalls how she started volunteering at school. She says it was participation in a school event in support of the soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday it may seem such a trifle. I wove bracelets with my own hands from blue and yellow ribbons and small angels as amulets for soldiers. But then it seemed quite important. First of all, for me,\u201d says Yulia. \u201cAnd that\u2019s when I realized that I wanted to do something more for our defenders… I met soldiers, helped them with basic household items that I could get. And they began to tell me about their needs and gradually brought me up to speed. I involved my friends in this aid and we succeeded! And so, step by step, first we processed the orders of the fighters we knew, and then their comrades… The circle grew, everything started spinning.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Gradually, despite her young age, Yulia became a well-known volunteer in Popasna. Soldiers trusted her and advised their comrades to contact Yulia. Civilians also trusted her and donated. And while the first fundraising was for household equipment for the positions, today the volunteer raises money for everything used on the front line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In 2015, Yuliya moved to Zaporizhzhia, where she entered college to study journalism. But she did not give up volunteer work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI visited Popasna about 2 weeks before the full-scale Russian invasion. At that time, I couldn\u2019t even think that a few months later the Russians would turn my hometown into a complete ruin and occupy it, \u201c Yuliya shares her memories. \u201cI still remember my apartment, the arrangement of things in the rooms. Now the house is pierced with shells, the entrances are destroyed – the Russians dropped an aerial bomb… I lived in a five-story building on Myru (Peace) Street, where there is no more peace.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The volunteer says that when she looks at the photo of Popasna devastated by the occupiers, comparisons of \u201cbefore\u201d and \u201cafter\u201d pop up, and fragments of memories come to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt hurts to think about my grandma\u2019s home and the house where I spent a lot of time. In 2022, when the fighting was going on, I saw a video where a representative of the so-called \u201cpeople’s militia of the LPR\u201d was talking about the \u201csituation\u201d. And in that video, a neighboring house was burning against the background of my grandma\u2019s gate, and I could see a sign with the street name and house number…\u201d says the volunteer. \u201cBut the worst thing is to see something that you couldn\u2019t even imagine. These are shots of my destroyed and burned hometown taken by a drone from a height. The town that was everything to me. The East is my heart, my life, my place of strength, my home.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Volunteering since 2022<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The girl says that when in 2022 the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for volunteers rose to a new, higher level, she already knew what and how to do, because she had experience, knowledge and understanding of the problems. And most importantly, she had contacts in the units she regularly helped. So, with the full-scale invasion, Yulia continued to support them and fulfill their requests. The area was the same \u2014 Luhansk and Donetsk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Over time, the number of units and groups that turned to the girl with requests only increased. Soldiers were looking for trusted volunteers who could really help efficiently and promptly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHonestly, the hardest part was to find what the fighters asked for. Military stores were empty… And as soon as something appeared in the stores selling military equipment, it was sold out instantly,\u201d says Yulia. \u201cWhat was the way out in such a situation? Take risks, look for suppliers abroad, and establish cooperation with people we didn\u2019t know. Believe in the honesty and integrity of those who could help, buy, bring. I managed \u2026\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

And Yulia did all this despite tough personal challenges: moving, losing home, town, job, occupation, settling in a new place, worries, and constant difficulties. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut my responsibility to my soldiers is above all!\u201d says the volunteer, smiling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n