First Estonian volunteer social worker arrives in east Ukraine
Today serves as the first day of work for an Estonian social volunteer in the city of Zaporizhia in southeastern Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has funded the travels of six volunteering psychologists, social workers and special education teachers to Ukraine, with stays ranging from one to three months at a time, the Estonian Refugee Council announced.
The volunteers will be working with a local association of volunteering psychologists, with 75 specialists involved.
Members of the association provide counseling and psychological aid to both internal refugees and locals who have suffered due to conflict in the region.
Special attention is paid to children who have had to flee and are faced with coming to terms with the loss of their homes and loved-ones, as well as growing used to to their new environment.
The first Estonian volunteer in Ukraine is social worker Minni Sirge, a full-time employee at the Adeli Rehabilitation Center in Tallinn.
The expedition of volunteering specialists to Ukraine is financed by the Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the basis of developmental cooperation and humanitarian aid funds. The project will continue until the end of 2015, with the next volunteers set to travel to Ukraine in June.
Editor: A. Kaer