In many countries of the world, volunteering is becoming increasingly popular - a wide range of activities that are carried out voluntarily for the benefit of society without remuneration. Various large scale events are often accompanied by volunteer assistance. They also launch many campaigns aimed at caring for people, animals and the environment. Modern forms of volunteerism are only beginning to develop in Pridnestrovie, however, special attention is paid to it in the Pridnestrovian Development Strategy for 2019-2026. Novosti Pridnestrovya correspondent found out who are Pridnestrovian volunteers, what they do, what motivate them and why it is useful for the country.
In 2013, the Law on Volunteering was adopted in the PMR. It states that "a volunteer is an individual who has reached the age of sixteen and who is engaged in voluntary activity on a voluntary and free of charge basis."
A breakthrough for the republic and for its time law (for example, in Russia a similar legislative act appeared only in 2018) does not actually work due to the absence of a number of by-laws mechanisms. Their development should be undertaken by an organizing committee on volunteering, created in August last year from representatives of state and public structures. The tasks of the organizing committee, whose work is headed by the Ministry of Education, also include promoting the development of volunteering in Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic.
Today, according to the head of the educational, ideological work and youth policy department of the Ministry of Education and Science Nadezhda Filippova, there is no unified register of volunteer organizations in Pridnestrovie. At the same time, as noted by the head of the department for interaction with public organizations of the Presidential Administration of the PMR Alexander Berezovsky, all public organizations in our republic can be considered volunteering. According to him, these associations organize their activities voluntarily and disinterestedly.
Who are the Volunteers?
Volunteers are people who share their experience, skills, knowledge, or provide assistance to those who need it without earning it. Sometimes volunteers are called community assistants, freelance volunteers, assistants, leaders, mediators.
For example, 25 thousand volunteers took part in the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014. They worked in more than 20 areas of activity: they met guests, helped navigate, organize the opening and closing ceremonies, organized catering centers, issued accreditations, sold and checked tickets, etc.
A large number of volunteers from 67 countries of the world took part in organizing and holding the World Festival of Youth and Students in Sochi in 2017. “Silver volunteers” also helped them, that is, people who are 55 years old and more. They told about the locations, helped find them. If necessary, they were ready to provide first aid, and also tried to improve the participants` mood.
At present, Russian volunteers are united by such large organizations as the Association of Volunteer Centers, Victory Volunteers, Medical Volunteers, the Union of Volunteer Organizations and Movements, and others.
The Association of Volunteer Centers (AVC), for example, is the largest volunteer organization in Russia. Created in 2014 at the initiative of President Vladimir Putin in order to preserve the legacy of the volunteer program of the Olympic Games in Sochi and to develop the volunteer movement as a whole.
Now there are 125 members, 83 regions, 1016 organizations in the regional network, and more than 1 million volunteers throughout the country in AVC. The association became the operator of volunteer corps in more than a hundred of the largest events, including: the World Festival of Youth and Students, the World Cup and the Confederations Cup, world championships in various sports. They create the infrastructure and conditions for the development of volunteering in Russia, help to ensure that the culture of volunteering becomes a natural norm in society.
Why is it Fashionable?
What makes people volunteer? As a rule, the motivation is completely different. For example, the opportunity to listen to an interesting lecture by a famous scientist or to attend an exclusive premiere. At major events, you can personally communicate with famous people. Others are attracted by the opportunity to improve their knowledge of foreign languages. For others - it is traveling and expanding horizons. Someone wants to gain life experience.
Psychologists say that volunteering in the modern world is a natural result of the thirst for self-actualization.
“A mentally healthy person has a desire inside to help another. People who care about others are sensitive and vulnerable to other people's misfortunes. People like to be in such an emotional state, to enjoy or even feel the euphoria of helping others,” the head of the department of psychology at the Faculty of Pedagogy and Psychology of T. G. Shevchenko PSU Victoria Kucheryavenko said.
Who in Pridnestrovie Can be Called Volunteers?
Today, they unite according to their interests and are members of various public organizations.
Non-profit partnership of social assistance "Let's Help Together." This organization appeared in 2016. Its volunteers provide social assistance to large families, low-income families, retirees and people with disabilities, as well as other people who are in difficult life situations.
An example of one of these situations is the story of Artem Diligul. He broke his back in an accident. Meanwhile he was left alone with his daughter, whom he needed to take care of.
“Artem is a proud and independent guy, he tried to somehow raise his daughter on his own. She was at the first grade back then. After a series of moves, he was given a house in which there was neither furniture, nor kitchen, nor a bed. Soon his uncle addressed us with this problem. We told this story using social networks, and people began to help. Thus, we collected furniture, household appliances, dishes and other things for him, and people from all Pridnestrovie helped in this,” Alena Zlotnitskaya, chairwoman of the NP of social assistance “Let's Help Together” said.
The organization systematically holds promotions and charity events to raise funds for the needy. The chairman of “Let's help together” says that volunteers are a donation of friendship, human support, human participation, good mood.
“A volunteer organization is, first of all, a stable community of volunteers (or human subjects, which is one and the same), existing to help someone or to solve some kind of social problem. Volunteers are people who help with their personal involvement. Their resource is their time, strength, and skills, but not money,” Alena Zlotnitskaya notes.
Public Movement EcoPMR. Among the main activities of this organization are actions to clean the bank of the Dniester, collecting waste batteries and greening Pridnestrovian cities.
“We have repeatedly participated and organized actions to clean the tree line and the banks of the Dniester from household garbage left by holidaymakers. Several times we went out to clean up the area of the ferry in Tiraspol. Respecting nature is our life, our health and our culture!” EcoPMR writes on the website.
More recently, Victory Volunteers appeared in our republic. They are part of the International Volunteer Team of the 75th anniversary of the Victory, created by the Victory Volunteers All-Russian Social Movement. The activity of this movement is aimed at preserving the historical truth about the Great Patriotic War and the memory of anti-fascist heroes.
On the Day of Russian Youth, they organized the historical quest “1944. Children of Victory”. Its route consists of several control points, on each of which participants perform tasks. In the process of this game, participants will learn interesting facts about the role of children during World War II.
Yevgeny Nazarenko, coordinator of the movement “Victory Volunteers of Pridnestrovie”, shared his plans for the future.
“Volunteers of Victory” is not just a movement, it is a philosophy. We plan to provide assistance to veterans, to carry out actions and educational activities for young people, including in the format of historical quests. But the main thing is the preparation of a volunteer corps to accompany the military parade and the “Immortal regiment. Pridnestrovie” action May 9, 2020," - Yevgeny Nazarenko said.
Soon one more volunteer organization will be opened - the “Good Deeds of the PMR”. As the founder of this association, Vyacheslav Larionov, said, the essence of this association is to assist people in need from unprotected segments of the population.
“These are money for treatment, medicines and examinations. If necessary, we plan to help with products. We will also provide information support, conduct charity events to raise funds. We plan to go to the orphanage to visit the children, for whom we will buy stationery and sports equipment,” Vyacheslav Larionov said.
In addition to these organizations, the youth of the State University is also involved in volunteering activities. So, for example, students of the PSU Faculty of Medicine created a volunteer project “I am a Donor of the PMR”. Volunteers of this movement popularize donation as a concept and assist in the search for blood to those who need it. In the future they plan to even develop a bonus program for donors.
While Youth Renovation party, for example, produces portraits for the action "Immortal Regiment" annually on the eve of Victory Day. In addition, once every three months they go to a shelter for dogs, where they help to clean the snow, walk their pets, wash dishes, repair the booths. Another volunteer project of the party is the training of pensioners in the basics of computer literacy. The activists of the Youth Renovation help to learn to deal with modern technology for free.
In 2014, the youth movement Star began one of the volunteer projects "I Want to Help". Within its framework, the guys visit the elderly, help them with cleaning the house and even buy medicines. Another movement project is “We Remember You, Veteran”. Youth activists visit war veterans, home front workers and war children throughout the year. The guys congratulate them on their birthday, give flowers and cakes. Such attention is always pleasant to people in age. But volunteering is not an easy job. The chairman of the youth movement Star Svetlana Molake told about that.
“I just love what I do, that's why I do it. Volunteering is overcoming oneself. I don’t always want to come there and, for example, chop wood when it`s cold outside as we do with our guys. But you overcome yourself because you want to be useful to society. I love life, I love people, that why I am volunteer,” Svetlana shared.
Volunteer Certificate and Volunteer Grant
Today, according to Nadezhda Filippova, groups are being formed in educational institutions that can work in any direction of volunteering activities, including helping the elderly, children and animals.
“Volunteer activities have already begun on the sites. It is important that this work was not some kind of event, but on an ongoing basis,” Nadezhda Filippova emphasizes.
At the same time, the representative of the Ministry of Education is sure that so that the activity of the volunteer would resound for him, it is necessary to keep its records.
For this, a volunteer certificate is provided. Such a document in accordance with the Law on Volunteering can be useful when applying to an educational organization and when applying for a job.
Meanwhile, there are no volunteer certificates in our republic yet, but Nadezhda Filippova says that the Ministry of Education is already working on their creation. She also noted that volunteering in our republic does not always have the appropriate infrastructure support.
In order to resolve this issue, in Pridnestrovie it is planned to create a system of state grants, which would be allocated for a specific volunteer project. This was told by the head of the department for interaction with public organizations of the PMR Presidential Administration Alexander Berezovsky.
“A month ago, on the head of state instructions, the presidential administration began developing a grant mechanism. After development, it will be presented for discussion to the Government and the public,” Alexander Berezovsky said.
However, it is still early to say how the grant mechanism will function. It will be presented in finished state before the end of the formation of the republican budget for 2020, so that it can be successfully implemented next year. For now, it is known that it will consist of several steps, differing in the size of funding.
According to Alexander Berezovsky, such a system is proposed to protect organizations from great risks.
“First, a small grant, where an organization can show its effectiveness, decide on unforeseen difficulties, and then you can move on to a medium or large grant,” Alexander Berezovsky said.
He noted that the grant money, presumably, could be spent on the acquisition of the necessary materials or expendables that were needed for the implementation of volunteer projects. According to him, the project involves a certain length in time and a certain system of actions, a sequence.
“The most important thing is to have a result from zero to the final, so that it is clear what was achieved as a result of the volunteer project,” Alexander Berezovsky said.
Anna Turchenko
