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Participants’ Testimonials

From 2007

“In 2007, I volunteered to go and work in a community development project in the Chornobyl affected areas through the Oxford Volunteers Scheme – organised by the University of Oxford and the UNDP Chornobyl Recovery and Development Programme. With an academic background in History and Politics of Eastern Europe, I thought I knew a few things about Chornobyl – yet the confrontation with reality put a lot of things in perspective.

Working in the communities was a great experience and certainly something I will never forget. Although the conditions were not always the easiest and communication was not always as clear as we had wished, working in the villages was great and the people were really excited about us being here. They were very welcoming and friendly and showed a lot of interested in our every-day lives. The interaction with the young people was great, as was the contact with the community organisation leaders. We managed to get a few discussions going and exchanged ideas about projects: in one village, we developed action plans for the Youth Centre and tried to get support from other stakeholder in the village. In the other village, we focussed more on teaching English and strengthening ties between different community leaders.

Now, half a year later and graduated from Oxford, I find myself in an office of a UN agency in Geneva as programme officer for a project in which Ukraine is one of the focus countries. Although our project it is not directly related to the Chornobyl programme, it is good to know what the situation in the field is like. Having experienced how community development projects initiated from behind a desk are implemented in the field has proven an invaluable asset.

If you are interested in community development, Ukraine or working in a UN context in general, I can absolutely recommend participating in this programme. It is a great experience, and a lot of fun!”

                                                                                                                                                                       Yuri de Boer (SEH 2007)

“We have never had foreigners come to our village and it was very strange speaking to foreign youth of the same age as us. We also were quite impressed by the concept of volunteering! Why did volunteers come to the Chornobyl territory? Because of this many people turned out for the presentation given by Gregor Lapanovski and Malini Daniels in our youth centre where not only young people were present, but also the older people came to see them. Everyone wanted to see the foreigners that were interested in our village Zamglay.

The ‘clean village’ campaign, which was organized by the volunteers, did not only clean the village stadium, but it also changed the whole perception of the village youth towards community actions. During the campaign the volunteers and villagers worked together and the foreigners did not require any particular circumstances. They showed us that the most important thing is communication and kindness and that they are open to the dialogue.

The coming of the volunteers to our village has become a huge stimulus for all of the members of our organisation to work!”

                                                                                                                                                                                          Yulia Dzhola

Head of the youth organisation “TEMP”, Zamglay village

“The stay of volunteers in our village changed me. I understood that it is very important to learn languages and that the foreigners are same as us. I thought they would be different, but they were very simple and easy to talk to.”

Kolya Savchenko

 Member of community “Zhytychi”, Lystvyn village

“The Oxford Volunteers for Chornobyl Scheme” was an eye-opening and truly enabling experience.  Working through the UNDP, volunteers are afforded a frontline experiential understanding of post-conflict victimization that challenges misconceptions about aid-dependency and radiation.  With access to health and government officials, I was personally able to design and lead a health-needs assessment that turned into policy recommendations and a new joint CRDP-nonprofit health initiative that I'm leading.  Along with other volunteers, I also worked on community development, particularly with youth, whose images are immortalized in a fund-generating photographic exhibition created by other volunteers that insists the viability and vitality of these populations.  The hopeful, unexpectant faces remind us that pressing need extends long-beyond commonly-understood time-scale definitions of conflict. I know I will continue to return to aid the recovery.”

Malini Daniels,

MSc Global Health Science

Department of Public Health and Primary Care Crist Church College