ijab.de: Olena, your home town of Kyiv was bombed again last night. You’ve probably not slept much. How are young people dealing with this constant danger?
Olena Podobied-Frankivska: The younger they are, the calmer they are in dealing with the situation. This is our life right now, and they need to get used to it. They’ve become quite cold-blooded and tough over the last two years. They’re almost like stones. But the constant air raids are not the only challenge for young people. Many have parents or siblings serving in the army. This has also changed their role – they need to help out much more. Their brothers are somewhere on the frontlines, their friends might have been killed – a situation that is typical for many of them. At the moment our team is attending about one funeral a month for our friends and colleagues. That’s tougher than experiencing an air raid, but it’s also a way to regain energy. One of our friends, 25, is on our team. His brother and his dad are serving in the army and yet he’s very committed to his project. He goes out to forage for things that will help others, like medicine or snacks.
The education system is changing
ijab.de: Under these circumstances, is it even possible to offer youth work? Or have you found that it’s more necessary than ever?
Olena Podobied-Frankivska: Youth work is incredibly necessary. NUMO has just launched an online advocacy platform, and we’re trying to support all those who are working with young people, for instance by offering project-specific training courses. Plus, our education system is changing. Because of the war, lessons that would normally be taught in schools and universities are now being delivered online. But since not all young people are able to connect, non-formal education is being provided by youth organisations or in youth centres. We’d prefer for this not to be necessary, but we now have 35 education counsellors who are supporting youth workers on the ground. And it’s not just a matter of education; it’s about providing a safe haven. We have many internally displaced people who are living in emergency accommodation – sometimes an entire family together in one room. When the air raid sirens go off, they move to a shelter. They have no personal space at all. Our youth centres are a place for them to go. As refugees, they’ve left everything behind. They feel isolated and cannot connect with their friends. We support them in the form of mentors who they can trust and who help them to navigate their new, unfamiliar surroundings and find new friends. There is an enormous demand for help like this. It’s a form of support that is quite new in Ukraine.
Ukraine is backed by the rest of the world
ijab.de: You’re now a member of the ERYICA network. How will NUMO benefit from that?
Olena Podobied-Frankivska: Our ERYICA membership is highly visible proof that Ukraine is backed by the rest of the world. We never used to have youth centres; now, we do and they are helping large numbers of young people. Between the first seminar we gave six years ago and today, there’s been a pandemic and a war. And now we have joined ERYICA. The war has highlighted how relevant youth work is, and it has revealed that we’re not alone. It’s not just words; there’s also action.
ijab.de: What can the youth work communities in other countries learn from Ukraine?
Olena Podobied-Frankivska: They can see that youth work is possible even under pressure – even in times of war – and that in difficult circumstances, youth work is more necessary than ever. We want to share this insight with the others in the European network. We are also happy to welcome volunteers. We’re getting so much attention and want to use that momentum to develop and offer projects together.
