Page 155 - Book about Friendship and Future.Stories of Volunteers.

Toma Khmara

KFC-Michurina
Krasnoyarsk

Volunteering Has Been Giving Me Energy

It seems that volunteering in the KFC team of Krasnoyarsk
has existed always. We started with some New Year charity fairs,
making greeting cards and toys, and now it seems to me this is
just a part of our life – a big and significant part.
Among our wards there are four orphanages, all of them take
part in the charity program “Generation Choice”. I try to attend
the program activities at maximum, but it is not always attain-
able. My cooperation with the kids from orphanages has been
lasting for three years already. This has never been nice and easy,
but with time we have adjusted and learnt to hold the events bet-
ter. To a large extent it depends on how we manage to establish
contact with the kids.
Once, a couple of girls deliberately refused to take part in the
game. I get prepared for our events and that day I was wearing
a T-shirt of a volunteer, bracelets and some lipstick. So, we start-
ed talking with these girls. About appearance, fashion trends,
Instagram, etc. It turned out they did not have a senior friend
who could have told them about all that. These issues seem so
elementary! The meeting finished too quickly, and they were lis-
tening to me while I showed them this and that on the Internet.
Since then they were glad to see me: once I missed an excursion
and was told later that the girls were asking about me.
Volunteering has great importance to me. I work in a restau-
rant with a large flow of guests and this is not the easiest job.
I am not complaining, after all, this is my choice. But sometimes it
gets really hard, both emotionally and physically. Sometimes so
hard that even at home I cannot relax. And even at home things
sometimes go wrong. And when I visit one of the orphanages
under our patronage, I cannot think about anything else. And the
problems fade and shift to the backstage. I realize that in fact
I am strong, everything is fine and these teenagers need me, and
I have been doings something great and important. This gives
me energy.