Organizing a "Happening" Ukrainian Weekend

After the massive success of the fundraising concert for Ukraine I worked to put together with 4 different organisations, it is time to put together the most festive weekend for Ukrainians in the city.
The concert went better than we expected. Granted, the municipality pulled a lot of weight. We had to bring a Ukrainian orchestra from Ukraine all the way to Netherlands, organize the event, create proper and secure routes for the donations, security for the orchestra, transportation, and so much more. It was very hectic. But the best part is, many of the ensemble hadn't seen a peaceful moment in Ukraine until they got the chance to get out of Ukraine and perform in the Netherlands.

The concert was fully free, and the money raised was purely through donations. The money will be going to an orphanage in Ukraine.

Last year, I organised the first Christmas party for Ukrainian refugees in the city. It was the first event of such a scale and common activity, and it went on the municipality's list of permanent activities for Ukrainians and was replicated in other shelters.

This year, I am putting together two events for Ukrainians but with much larger collaborations and bigger hopes. The target has always been the same - "Thrive, not survive." This year, along with that goal in mind, I also want Ukrainian refugees to step up and become community leaders who create opportunities for themselves and others to "thrive". These events always, other than everything else, give the Ukrainian community a chance to relax and smile, and hopefully distract them from their tough lives for at least a few hours. It helps me, at least, in that way.

Unlike last year, this year has been very productive in terms of hitting personal goals.

A lot of new people have come up who, for the longest time, hadn't taken the initiative to do something for the community or participate in events. For example, I received a lot of submissions when I asked for workshop material.

These artworks you see in the pictures were sent by different Ukrainians in the city. They agreed and showed interest in creating workshops for children where they'd teach the children to create such art during the festive weekend.

Now tell me, how do I say no to any submission? I always want more and more Ukrainians to come forward, and now that they've come, I have to pick and choose. But I'm not going to do that. The workshops that'll not fit in the weekend, will be used for a different event or as a regular workshop on one of the shelters.

During the independence day celebrations the "Petrykivka" painting workshop was piloted. It was such a huge success that the work of the kind lady is now used on official intern greeting and post cards by the local municipality.

This really motivated a lot of people. The artist is a pensioner who had very little to do here. Her son is in the frontline. So giving her the opportunity to do something, teach others, and even have her work given so much credit really changed her outlook on life.

The best part?

All the work for this year's events that I'm putting together is being done, head to toe, by the Ukrainian community members.

All of them are volunteers who are motivated to create a better future for the Ukrainian community. It took me very long to find a group, and to bring people together, to work in unison towards the same goal, and I'll tell you why I'm a bit. But as you can see above, they are working together to make Ukrainian dumplings in their shelters and gingerbread cookies for the festive weekend.

The women are either pensioners, pregnant, and or sick. Just like I have challenges, trials and tribulations, all of them do too. But leaving them just to be is not an option. They find great joy in this work, the work that helps their own community in such tough times.

All these events take very long to put together. The weekend events took me roughly 2 months. It is even harder when I'm working without the support of an organisation with paid staff. Working solely with volunteers who are themselves going through tough times is challenging. I have to do so much more than just bringing them together and doing something. There is training, guidance, scheduling, but most of all keeping their motivation as strong as it can be.

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