Zeilen van Vrijheid in faces: meet Andrey, logistic & bicycle coordinator
When the war started, Andrey was full of confusion. Read how a trip to Barcelona, Ukrainian dumplings, and volunteering helped him find a place in new reality and convert his sense of guilt into power
Andrey, Zeilen van Vrijheid logistics and bicycle coordinator
Meet Andrey, our logistics and bicycle coordinator. In the early days of the Russian invasion, he organized a collection of aid in his city of Utrecht, opening a warehouse and a pick up point on a nearby farm. Later, this initiative turned into a full-fledged warehouse and extensive coordination work.
If Oleg, whom we introduced you to earlier, searches for drivers, develops all the logistics of the convoy to Ukraine, and supports it en route, Andrey is responsible for the warehouse, sorting medicines/equipment, and packing everything necessary into ambulances. Besides that, he communicates with other volunteer organizations to arrange co-assistance and search for volunteers ready to help with supplies offloading and convoy cars stuffing.
And what about bicycles? Let's hear this story directly from Andrey.
How did the idea of sending bicycles to Ukraine come out, and what is your role in it?
At some point, when the processes at the warehouse were established, together with other volunteers of the foundation, we began to think about how else we could help the Ukrainians. At that time, there was a problematic situation with gasoline in the country, many cars were destroyed due to shelling, and residents of frontline territories were in dire need of vehicles. In unoccupied towns and villages, bicycles became the only available transport. People could use them to drive to the other parts of the city, bring packages with humanitarian aid, visit relatives, and have time to return before curfew. This is how the idea to send 2,000 bicycles to Ukraine was born.
We decided to start by opening several collection points where people can bring their bikes. We launched a small advertisement and the process began. People carried all kinds of bikes, from regular city bikes to children's and even expensive sports models. Later, several other volunteer organizations and The City of Amsterdam began to help us with the collection. Over the summer, we gathered 300 bicycles, which we repaired, painted, and prepared for transportation. All this process of collection, preparation, loading, and transportation of bikes to the endpoint in Ukraine is my assignment, as well as the search for volunteers ready to help me in this complex task.
What do you do in life? Does your experience help you in volunteering?
About 15 years ago I moved from my home town of Saint-Petersburg (Russia) to Barcelona to do my doctorate in biophysics and get a degree. After that, nine years ago, I moved to the Netherlands to work at the university. Now I am more engaged in experience design and science educational projects. I think my career experience in some way helps me in volunteering. When working with people, I understand them quite well. I see who needs what approach, how to communicate better with whom, when to explain, when to answer questions in more detail, etc. It is important when people come to help and work for free, find an approach to them, be able to find a common language, and cheer them up when necessary. It is crucial to make them understand that they are making a significant contribution. As part of my daily job, I facilitate human interactions during workshops, meetings and classes. This probably helps me better communicate with others.
What is the hardest thing about volunteering for you?
Draw boundaries. It isn't easy, but I'll try to explain what I mean. For example, when you work for money, you know what needs to be done, what quantity, and what compensation will follow. If you want to earn more, do more; if you don't want to, you can work at a more comfortable rhythm and devote time to other things. There are no such boundaries in volunteering, and measuring how much you have done and whether it is enough is challenging. It may seem that you have done a lot, but there are people around who are doing even more. At the same time, you understand that there are still a vast number of people who need help. Questions arise, what else can you do? Can you do more? Should you? On the other hand, you can't burn out, your family relationships shouldn't suffer and you can't disappear entirely from the lives of children. Finding a balance between war, everyday life, family, and volunteering is the most challenging thing.
Let's talk about burnout. How do you find a red line that you cannot cross, and what do you do to cope with it?
I have internal markers telling me I am already close to this border. And this is good because I understand what is happening and do not cross it. What do I do when I feel close to burnout? To me, there are three ways to restore strength. The first is sports. For many years I have been systematically involved in various sports and try not to abandon my regular training. When I understand it is necessary, I add some more physical activity and switch.
The second way is family. First of all, I'm a father and appreciate the time spent with children a lot. If I understand that I am falling out of their life, I am doing something wrong. At such moments, it is vital to stop and play badminton with them, draw, go for a walk, and spend time together in any pleasant way. It's very refreshing.
And third, I try to enjoy what I do. When things get tough, I remind myself what I'm really doing and why. I regularly meet many interesting and wonderful people whom, under other circumstances, I would hardly have met. This is a big benefit of volunteering. Of course, not all work I do is joyful, but I try to find some pleasant moments in everything I do.
If you had not become part of the foundation, would you still help Ukraine?
Yes, definitely. I would hardly organize a foundation independently, but I would find another volunteer organization to cooperate with. The invasion began on February 24, and I had a vacation with my family planned for the 26th in Barcelona. After long discussions with my wife, we decided not to cancel it. Still, as soon as we arrived, I realized that I couldn't just relax, walk around the city and act like I usually do on vacation, knowing what was happening in Ukraine. So I opened Facebook and Telegram, found local volunteer groups, and spent my entire vacation sorting boxes of humanitarian aid.
That week of volunteering has given me a lot. In the first days of the war, like many, I was full of confusion, without an understanding of how to live and what to do. Days in Barcelona with Ukrainian volunteers, working in the warehouse, and dumplings-gathering afterward helped me form my attitude to the situation and find my place in it. Therefore, I would not stop there and find an organization in which I could become helpful to Ukraine. Most importantly, my volunteering experience helped me transform an incredible feeling of guilt into a sense of responsibility.
If you want to support Ukraine, you can donate money via Bunq so that we can buy and send medical equipment, ambulances, and medicines.