Ukraine: Mykolaiv Access students have become telephone-befriending volunteers 01.06.2021Author: Oleksandra Bezruchko
Mykolaiv Access volunteers responded to a call by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the Ukrainian Volunteer Service (UVS) to support lonely and elderly people during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two of our students have completed an online preparation course in February and since then have made many telephone calls to elderly people who sought support - as part of My Telephone Friend (Befriend) project. For phone friends with whom our students communicate, such calls are an opportunity to share their own life experiences and learn more about modern youth. This projects not only builds trust between generations and provides emotional support, but also helps them in developing communication skills and sharing personal experience. Now our students are ready to share their impressions of their participation in the project:
“Now I am a telephone-befriending volunteer. I decided to become volunteer when I learned about it at one of our Access lessons dedicated to volunteering. I heard that during the quarantine there are a lot of people who are deprived relatives' attention. This project helps such people not to feel forgotten. Since the moment I signed up for this project, I have had about 15 friendly calls. My companion was a 69-year-old lady from Kharkiv. I have managed to build friendly trust with her. We have found many things in common, told stories and taught each other some life lessons. It is pleasant for me to communicate with her. This project teaches me that I mustn't forget my relatives, no matter how many there are and how old they are. They always need to be supported.” – by Kris Fedyukin
“This is a very good project that gave me a great opportunity to make new acquaintances. It helps people find warmth and communication, which is not called in our quarantine days. Personally, I spoke to an elderly woman who was quite welcoming. She is 65, her name is Natalia, and she is from the city of Odessa. I called her 4 times, and it was amazing! We discussed many topics, for example, old music (The Queen, Scorpions, Modern Talking), cinema, and also art. It was very interesting to discuss many hot topics with such a wise person. This is a very cool project!” – by Arthur Ibrahimov
Here is the link to the website with the details on the project https://befriend.volunteer.country/
Author: Lidia Aizikova and Oksana Yevzikova
“Now I am a telephone-befriending volunteer. I decided to become volunteer when I learned about it at one of our Access lessons dedicated to volunteering. I heard that during the quarantine there are a lot of people who are deprived relatives' attention. This project helps such people not to feel forgotten. Since the moment I signed up for this project, I have had about 15 friendly calls. My companion was a 69-year-old lady from Kharkiv. I have managed to build friendly trust with her. We have found many things in common, told stories and taught each other some life lessons. It is pleasant for me to communicate with her. This project teaches me that I mustn't forget my relatives, no matter how many there are and how old they are. They always need to be supported.” – by Kris Fedyukin
“This is a very good project that gave me a great opportunity to make new acquaintances. It helps people find warmth and communication, which is not called in our quarantine days. Personally, I spoke to an elderly woman who was quite welcoming. She is 65, her name is Natalia, and she is from the city of Odessa. I called her 4 times, and it was amazing! We discussed many topics, for example, old music (The Queen, Scorpions, Modern Talking), cinema, and also art. It was very interesting to discuss many hot topics with such a wise person. This is a very cool project!” – by Arthur Ibrahimov
Here is the link to the website with the details on the project https://befriend.volunteer.country/
Author: Lidia Aizikova and Oksana Yevzikova