Ukrainian Saturday School

Oct. 2022

The EduCare Europe Fund of the PATRIZIA Foundation makes it possible for Ukrainian children traumatised by the war to receive therapy from trained emergency educators in order to enable them to return to school. An comprehensive package of relief activities and a targeted volunteering programme support this project at various European locations, including Warsaw and Augsburg. The Ukrainian Saturday School in cooperation with the local organisations “Ukrainischer Verein Augsburg e.V.” is one of these projects. PATRIZIAns Nadine Rabija Mujezinovic and Giancarlo Tosto supported the local team as volunteers at the sports festival. Their conclusion: It only takes a little effort to bring a lot of joy.

Football and games course

Nadine Rabija Mujezinovic (PATRIZIA Fund Management) and Giancarlo Tosto (PATRIZIA Fund Accounting) didn’t really know what to expect at the sports festival at the Ukrainian Saturday School in Augsburg-Göggingen. But then everything was easy. “We were directly involved, marked out a football field, helped to set up a games course, and lent a hand everywhere we could,” says Giancarlo Tosto. There was no strangeness – on either side: “It was as if we had always belonged to it, as a matter of course,” says Nadine Rabija Mujezinovic.

There were no language barriers either: “You wouldn’t believe how well talking with hands and feet works, especially in sports,” laughs the 25-year-old. And if things actually got “difficult”, a supervisor from Ukraine, who has lived in Germany for a long time and also supports the Saturday school on a voluntary basis, helped.

After setting up, sports and games were played in two groups: the kids up to 11 years of age and the “youths” from 11 and up to 14 years of age. “This allowed us to act according to age – and everyone really got their money’s worth and could really let off steam,” says Giancarlo Tosto.

If you ask the two PATRIZIAns what they take away from their volunteer work, they agree: “It was an unbelievably valuable experience for us to see how much fun, joy and gratitude this in itself small, low-key action triggered in the children and young people,” says Giancarlo Tosto. “We were able to look at beaming, smiling faces the whole time. Against the background of what these kids have experienced, it is very touching,” the 30-year-old continues. Would the two of them recommend such a volunteer assignment to others? Absolutely. Because, as they sum up, you get back at least twice what you put in.

Are you interested? The PATRIZIA Foundation supports all those who want to work as volunteers with training courses. In these face-to-face trainings and webinars, volunteers can learn how to deal with traumatised people.

Weitere Informationen dazu unter EduCare Europe Fund – Patrizia Foundation.