What a journey, what a team, and what a delightful experience connecting with leaders and volunteers at the YMCA centres and eDU Hubs of YMCA Lviv, YMCA Lutsk, YMCA Zdolbuniv and YMCA Boyarka in Ukraine.
Our visit began on the 16th of December, joined by Victoria Trofimova, Project Consultant in the “Refugee Skilling and Support “ project powered by Accenture Foundation, and Dumitru Roibu, Executive President of YMCA Moldova. The trip started in Warsaw, Poland, from where we took a 9-hour train to the Border with Ukraine.
The first stop of our journey was at YMCA Lviv, where we connected with the program team, and found out more about their programs, YMCA centre, artistic and creative initiatives for young people, and support for the war veterans in the area.
Their services span from psychosocial support and community wellbeing, to continuing the mission of the YMCA to strengthen and develop the opportunities in leadership, youth-work good practices and networking. We had the great pleasure of witnessing the fantastic team of young leaders across Ukraine YMCAs delivering the Y-Style leadership program for the local volunteers.
From Lviv we left for Lutsk, where we visited the eDU Hub and YMCA centre. Our journey would not have been possible without Stas Krimchuk, an incredible leader, helper delivering aid and support on the frontlines, and amazing guide showcasing the realities of the country, and the endless work of the YMCA to reach out to the most vulnerable communities, on the frontlines.
Arriving at the eDU Hub of YMCA Lutsk, we have been impressed by the hospitality, care and community feeling created by the local team. Here the YMCA is offering programs to support IDPs and the local community – from arts and drama classes, and psychological and art therapy sessions, to digital, and professional upskilling for youth, veterans and their families and, for the elderly as well.
The eDU Hub and the YMCA centre operate as a unit – providing all the tools and spaces – enabling childcare services, community events organization, and offices where the daily activity of the YMCA is carried on.
Digital upskilling, language classes, career growth, and learning opportunities are the key services the team provides. Currently, their new partnership with the local technical college and many other institutions is providing a pathway for growth and expansion of services and expert base.
This led to an exponential growth of the program activities and the eDU Hub – and we had the great pleasure of attending the sessions delivered live at the local college, cherishing this incredible partnership and paving a strategy for the upcoming months.
The last leg of our trip was dedicated to connecting with the YMCA team in Zdolbuniv. We had the chance to see the new youth center, and eDU Hub the team is currently developing. Fully equipped and operational, the centre provides a cosy space for learning and connecting with the community.
The focus of the services is mental health, yoga sessions, mindfulness practices, language acquisition, digital skills development and ultimately career growth sessions.
During our time in Zdolbuniv, just like in every step of our journey, we had the chance to feel the YMCA Spirit, the determination and passion of every team member, volunteer and staff, investing 120% of their time building something unique, that has never been done before in their community – where growth and innovation build the base of what we call – youth empowerment.
On 22nd of December, our Project Consultant, Victoria Trofimova has also visited the eDU Hub facility in Boyarka. The team celebrated all the work that has been done and planned for the future together – preparing a novel strategy to continue empowering the community through upskilling sessions.
Later on that week Victoria and YMCA Boyarka board members visited their neighbors – YMCA Kyiv and their “Svitlo” space where both teams exchanged biggest successes ang challenges they had in 2023 and talked about the vision for YMCA work in the upcoming year.
And we would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and consideration, for all these incredible communities, and YMCAs greeting us and making us feel beyond welcome into their homes.
Refugee Skilling and Support Project powered by Accenture addresses an immediate and clear need enabling over 10,000 beneficiaries from the communities affected by the war in Ukraine, leveraging YMCA’s existing and significant pan-Europe presence by establishing community hubs that assist in skills development and connecting to employment opportunities – and other wrap-around services – for Ukraine refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in a holistic way.
