Ukraine Service Project
FCEE is one of the few clubs on campus who sends two students every year on an all-expenses-paid trip to Ukraine as part of the P-Global program at Alma College. The purpose of this trip is for our members to obtain a firsthand account of the orphan problem in the country and find possible solutions for it. This puts a face to our fundraisers on campus, and it greatly helps raise awareness about the issue. The student volunteers have worked with a different number of orphanages in the past, and each one has offered a vastly different experience that has greatly enhanced our mission. Additionally, the Alma College representatives give a donation on behalf of our organization to these orphanages every year. USVP serves as an excellent learning experience, and FCEE is very grateful to have this opportunity on an annual basis. Below are some pictures taken from the past several years:
USVP 2011
This past summer, FCEE members Chelsea and Alejandro traveled to various locations in Ukraine to work with two different organizations. In the city of Odessa, both members joined social workers of The Way Home to find children who live on the streets and offer them a place to stay. In the city of Lviv, our volunteers visited the home of Nataliia Iarosh, current president of the organization My Family, to meet their 10 adopted children. Additionally, they worked for one week in the Carpathian Mountains as part of a retreat organized by Nataliia. They met other families involved in the program, taught English, and organized games for the children during that time.
In 2010, current FCEE vice president Ethan stayed in Odessa for three weeks to work with The Way Home. At the orphanage, he met several volunteers from different nations and got to know all of the children living there very well. Additionally, he helped with several projects during his stay and joined the social workers, Roma and Inna, on patrols around the city in search of street kids to bring into the orphanage.
