The development of volunteerism in Ukraine and Transcarpathia based of two cases studies
Katalin Pallay
Abstract
Volunteer movement in Ukraine has recently developed significantly. The development of volunteering in Ukraine has been strongly promoted by the Russian invasion starting in February 2022 and the worsening social problems. In wartime, the role of volunteering and volunteers became extremely important. This paper describes the main changes in volunteering in Ukraine and then focuses on the development of volunteering in Transcarpathia. Civil activity in Transcarpathia started to take root in the years after the change of regime. Nowadays, there are many forms of voluntary work in this region, too: from individual civic self-organisations to church organisations and large international associations. This paper, after describing the development of civil society and volunteering in Ukraine, describes the work of two different voluntary organisations in Transcarpathia. The case study presents the voluntary work of the East European Mission and the Transcarpathian "Forgotten" Children's Aid (KEGYES).
Keywords: volunteering, voluntary organisations, Ukraine, Transcarpathia, East European Mission, Transcarpathian "Forgotten" Children's Aid