As an Asian kid in Russia, I always felt injustice. But I was blessed to have family and home, to get an education. So I grew up concerned more about global problems than my own. I was not sure who exactly I wanted to be but I was certain in my want to help those who weren’t as fortunate as me.
I am currently enrolled in a Computer science program at the local university. In my first year, I joined the student volunteer center (Page link: www.vk.com/volonterisu) and I got the chance to celebrate holidays with orphan children and to help animal shelters. Such simple volunteering activities made me feel impacting. The more projects we did more energy we got. So I was voted to take the chair and to lead the club for the next year. As a chairperson, I had to manage other volunteers’ work and think about strategic projects. With the whole picture in front of me, I suddenly realized that our temporary events do not solve the problems. At that time I learned more about the sustainable development concept and felt inspired to contribute with our local initiatives to the achievement of the global goals. We started to meet with kids from unstable families for street children prevention. We collected clothes and stationery to help crisis center shelter for female victims of violence with kids. We organized a group volunteer trip to the animal shelter to clean up and help with a dog walk. And we did that on a long-term basis.
Ecology activism became a new challenge for our club.
We spent productive months of recycling collection days, debate competitions on ecological issues, school lessons, and media campaigns. Due to that, we received the invitation to the annual university environmental activists convention in March. As a leader, I had to moderate work inside my team and to make sure they were engaged in the general discussion. But also I did not want to miss an opportunity to educate myself in Sustainable development. The lectures made me realize that I should spread the idea in Irkutsk. I decided to throw an Environmental week at my university as soon as we have come back. We opened the school for entrepreneurs who want to start eco-business, agreed with the regional operator to collect and utilize used batteries, threw lectures about the Zero Waste lifestyle. Students from other universities visited our events, so I decided that we should extend our community. I applied for Rosmolodeg’s financial support and succeeded. My first festival of Sustainable Development happened in October – page link: www.vk.com/sustenable.
I left the student volunteer center but I founded a new independent enthusiastic volunteer community. I am proud of my small team and our ambitious plans. However, I am graduating the university next year and so do my team members. I understand that we have to find a real job as our projects need investments. So I am focused now on 4th SD Goal and am thinking about new ways to contribute to the others.