VU Encourages Community Volunteering to Help Ukraine
In response to Russia's unprecedented military aggression against Ukraine, Vilnius University (VU) has taken a number of decisions to contribute to helping the Ukrainian people. Due to the high level of community involvement in volunteering, VU has made it possible for employees to contribute to the aid during working hours – until 30 June 2022, each employee will be given 10% of his/her working week to volunteer for Ukraine, while keeping his/her salary.
VU aims to give students and staff the widest possible choice of volunteering activities, which is why it also cooperates with volunteer host organizations. As well as providing support to members of the VU community, VU psychologists also volunteer in other organizations such as the Migration Centre.
"Many people have joined with a variety of motives but the majority are united in their desire to help. What has happened is a great tragedy and I don't want to stay aside," says Professor Ilona Laurinaitytė, a senior researcher of VU Institute of Psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy, who is volunteering at the Migration Centre and providing psychological first aid.
Providing translation services
Responding to the situation in Ukraine, staff and students of VU Faculty of Philology who speak Ukrainian, Russian, Belarusian and Polish are volunteering to translate and interpret a wide range of texts for the purpose of disseminating information. VU is delighted that citizens from Lithuania, Ukraine and Russia studying at VU are actively contributing to this initiative.
For example, on the initiative of Marianna Stetsyk, a second-year student of English and Another Foreign Language at VU Faculty of Philology, a phrasebook of simple Lithuanian-Ukrainian phrases was created, which she also voiced.
In addition, volunteer students and lecturers of VU Faculty of Philology in cooperation with Vilnius City Municipality, are offering free Lithuanian language courses to Ukrainian citizens coming to Lithuania.
VU Šiauliai Academy preparing accommodation space for Ukrainian refugees
VU Šiauliai Academy aims to help nearly 300 Ukrainian war refugees as soon as possible by providing them with free accommodation, as there is a severe shortage of living space in the city. At the moment, VU funds are being used to install the plumbing system, to upgrade the electrical installation, and to buy beds, bedding and linen. Professor Renata Bilbokaitė, Head of VU Šiauliai Academy, is actively involved in the communication of this idea in the city in order to attract more volunteers, and joined them in the weekend clean-up: peeling off the old wallpaper, ripping up the old flooring, removing the accumulated renovation waste.
"Since, following the Rector’s order, we are allowed to volunteer for four hours during our working week, we gathered some of the administrative staff – accountants, documentation specialists, library staff, an assistant – and last week, on Thursday, we cleaned up the third-floor residential space at 1A Dubijos Street, making it completely suitable for living. Naturally, I did it too, because in order to motivate employees, the team leader has to work shoulder to shoulder with the team," says the professor.
According to Head of VU Šiauliai Academy, the weekend clean-up was attended by residents of the city and public figures – about 50 people in total. On Monday, students from Šiauliai vocational schools also came to help by priming walls, patching holes and preparing rooms.
In addition to the preparation of the accommodation space, VU Šiauliai Academy offers a variety of educational and recreational activities for Ukrainian children: art and sand therapy, audio-visual technologies, physical activities, sensory readings, creative workshops, new media, pottery and glass workshops, and more. There are also self-help groups, training for student volunteers and other activities..
In solidarity with Ukraine and its academic world, the VU community is taking symbolic steps as well: organizing discussions on legal issues, publishing relevant articles by VU researchers. You can find more information about VU's initiatives and all the information you need about studying for Ukrainian citizens in the new Support Ukraine section of the VU website.