The volunteer organization DoBro is a community of active young people who want to change themselves and the world around them. Its main goal is enlightening and educational work with children and youth in the East and the de-occupied territories of the North of Ukraine.
– Our very presence at those places changes the people we come to, – says Marian Mysiakovskyi, student chaplain of the DoBro volunteer organization and Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, who studied at the Lviv Theological Seminary of the Holy Spirit of the UGCC. – They cannot understand how people who can calmly spend their time in other regions are with them at Christmas time. And this is exactly why our volunteers want to return there again and again – to give people hope that the military, who are there, protect the peaceful life of those students who develop their talents and then share with them.
– Please, tell us what regions your organization has visited.
– For more than eight years, we have been in different places. We change them very often. The main ones are the de-occupied territories of Kyiv, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions. The emphasis is also on Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. Most often, we visit Kharkiv, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhia regions.
– And how do the military treat you as guests at Christmas? Have they already got used to your visits?
– Everything depends on which brigade we go to. That is, if we come to the military units that are from Western Ukraine, then they have already seen nativity scenes and similar entertainment, and are more conscious of it. When we visit some units and brigades that come from the eastern or central region, there is not always a perception of what we are doing, they ask why we came at all. But after our acquaintance, our carols and nativity scene, and most importantly – during personal conversations, they begin to realize why we spend our time at Christmas here with them, and not at home with our families.
– Are you afraid of the responsibility for the students you take with you?
– Of course, each person has different feelings – from joy to fear. We understand all the risks involved in our trips to the East, we tell the students who go with us that this is not just a trip for leisure, but in fact a responsibility that we take upon ourselves and entrust to the students. We do not try to embellish something, on the contrary – we present a real picture, which may be different. It is clear that there is a feeling of trepidation, anxiety, but as experience shows, God protects and guides.
– Do you keep in touch with the people you met in the East – not only with the military, but also with those who live there?
– There is a certain category of people who have already become very close to us. Of course, we keep in touch with them through social networks. If there is an opportunity to see each other in person, we use this opportunity, spend time together, communicate, and share experiences. They tell us about their problems, difficulties in life, and as far as possible, we try to solve them.
