"We bring the humanitarian, bring animals." As volunteers help military and civilian in de -industrial territories - interviews

- How many people are in a pack now? How to join you? - At this stage, a pack is about 300-400 people. In March and April, we were about three thousand, but many people were from good neighborly delivery, which closed the needs of Kyivans, who were in a difficult situation - pensioners and young mothers when the pharmacies were closed. Our couriers carried the necessary things.

Since the situation in Kiev stabilized (everything is open, everything can be bought), we [declined] a little - there are 300-400 active participants. These are volunteers in warehouses, in delivery and people at the headquarters - about 40 coordinators. How can we join? We can write on any social network. In telegrams, for example, to say, "I am a car driver, I want to volunteer or want to help animals. " Many formats - just write to us and we coordinate with someone who deals with this direction.

- What are the directions and what volunteers do you have? - Probably that we still have the biggest need for car drivers, because there are a lot of delivery in Kiev. Also in Donetsk, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhya region we go a lot, deliver [necessary] military, civilian. And there is a need for volunteers, [who work] hands - in the warehouse to engage in humanities, medicines. Sometimes we have point needs - we look for people who will be engaged directly by animals.

Several people who will help us with legal [questions]. Spotting for specific knowledge and skills we often have. - I want to ask about animals separately. I know that every time you drive somewhere with delivery, you also save animals. How many of them are now? How can you help you with their family? - This is true: we bring animals from every departure. We saved the first animal from a zero checkpoint in Kiev - it was in March.

The villages were constantly appearing - we went with a humanitarian, brought animals. Earlier, we took the animal to Kyiv, fasted a partisan about it and in the evening someone was taking this animal. Then there were a lot of animals and we had to open our own shelter. But there were never many animals there: we quickly distributed them. The force of social networks worked and we closed it. We also have many animals now, they live in the headquarters. There is a zone for dogs, for seals.

Three newborn kittens were taken out of the Donetsk region, from the war zone. There are four adult dogs that are all from the Donetsk region. You can come to us, look, pick up. You can help with a veterinarian, with grooming - with anything. But they are not delayed now more than a week. - If we talk about the directions of the Fund's work with the military, what are the greatest needs now? They have changed a little, I think. - We still deliver armor and helmets.

The summer form, summer berets, tactical sneakers, which are not very hot. Demand for first aid kits and turnstiles has not decreased - they are asked for us. We now buy many thermal imagers, drones, PMBs and all kinds of specific and expensive pieces. Many are asking machines, beads, evacuation means - we also try to buy. Since the donations fell compared to March, our humanitarian purchases also fell a little. I cannot say that the request has changed significantly.

The only thing that is a little more structured - we get normal letters from the unit with lists. There can also be generators, radios, communications - this is very necessary. And there are quite specific things that we are looking for, trying to buy. - Why did they diminish? Less to send money within the country or from abroad? Is there any trend that has changed? People just end up, probably? -First, it is absolutely correct, people end with money.

In the beginning, we were sent a lot to cards - just Ukrainian transfers. Then we had more emphasis on PayPal and international transfers. There was a period when we were given money in cash - people were brought their home stocks in envelopes. Of course, due to the situation, resources are exhausted, and the drunk has fallen.

International donations have fallen very much because it is impossible to keep such tension on the air, in the media, it is impossible to think constantly and talk only about the war. This is a normal trend is bad for us, but normal for the world that you want to see something else. However, there are some events on which money is raised for us, international funds come with us with grants. Still, there is not much money: not at the beginning, but we can use them.

- I want to go back to the history of the pack. You have been in volunteering since 2014. What has changed now for the organization itself? What was the most difficult, perhaps in this new stage of war? - I will not say that it was [very difficult]. There was a new number of people for us, because in 2014 he was so much in such a quantity. Of course, the financial volumes were also much smaller. Probably, we have never been in an conditions when the fighting is around your city.

In 2014, we just gathered in peaceful Kiev in our pub, where everyone got acquainted. They accumulated the funds and went east. And now a little different situation. Those who stayed in Kiev had to understand that from day to day we will physically defend him. And if not physically, we have to take it all to zero - to help the military who are right nearby. The military came to our headquarters daily in very large numbers and personally asked us.

Immediately measured, looked, taken away and went with it. The challenge probably was that we had new directions. In 2014, we were exclusively engaged in the military and did not help civilians - there were other funds. And we did not engage in animals. They did not do much. And when [tragic] events took place in Chernihiv, the boys just took some beads and went to evacuate people. For us, for example, it was a very big challenge to find reflections to these people.

We exported 300-400 people for the flight, they had to settle somewhere, feed . . . they had to be duled. There were so many children. Therefore, it was such a special operation with an asterisk for us. Then it went according to the scheme. We are very lucky that there are people with different skills and experience in the headquarters. They make steep offers and then engage them. And we develop it. If [direction] becomes irrelevant, there is no public request, we close it.

We try not to keep anything just because we have opened. - You have many different directions and people from very different areas help to develop these areas, to break different situations. How did such a team be collected and how to bring people around a common idea? -The only and basic principle of the pack has always been voluntariness and the opportunity to get out of it at any time. You should always be in the resource to help someone.

Therefore, people know well that they can do just as much when they have time and opportunities. We are for resting, taking vacations, going to work. How did they all unite? It is, to be honest, a riddle from the first day. I do not know how to gather so many such cool people in one place, but like 2014 a pack is still just friends and friends of friends. A person who does not know one of us in person rarely gets here.

I remember at the beginning of the war, the volunteers who worked in our warehouse said that thanks to a pack they simply did not go "cuckoo", because they had something to do, they did not need to sit, read news, cook in this And be afraid. People came in the first days gray, very sad and they were very scared. They worked for their relatives - someone has sent someone abroad and stayed here.