Poland. Celebrated from 1 September to 4 October 2023, the Time of Creation, an annual ecumenical time of prayer and action for the common home, on the theme: “May Justice and Peace flow”.
Wiktoria, young volunteer of VIDES Polonia, the volunteer association promoted by the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, answers the question posed by Pope Francis in the Message for the World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation:
How can we contribute to the mighty river of justice and peace in this Time of Creation?
My name is Wiktoria, I come from Lublin (Poland). I am a volunteer for VIDES Poland, a youth volunteer association that works for the promotion and defense of the rights of children, young people, and women.
I first came into contact with VIDES a year ago, when my professor at the John Paul II Catholic University in Lublin offered me a three-week volunteer service outside Warsaw. This consisted of a week of help in a reception center for refugees and two weeks of summer camps for children from Ukraine. After this experience, I understood how much even a person like me, with little experience with children, could contribute to their happiness.
Subsequently, I signed up for the international Youth Exchange Camp project in support of refugees from Ukraine, organized by VIDES from 28 July to 6 August 2023. The camp participants were divided into three groups by age and I was chosen by the Sisters as the animator of the older ones, from 11 to 14 years. I was among them all day, animating the games and presenting themed skits, encouraging them to integrate, and supporting them in difficult moments. The FMA supported us and motivated us to act. This project encouraged me to get even more involved, having understood how important a positive presence among children is.
Collaborating with the other volunteers, I also experienced in them a great willpower in promoting solidarity and with this attitude, we supported the children’s sense of self-esteem and openness towards the world and other people.
In all of this, I realized that by helping others we were also helping ourselves to form, to strengthen our personality, and above all to break away from the monotony of daily life, acquiring courage and also learning how to react in stressful situations.
Challenges and opportunities
There was no shortage of challenges, such as there being a smaller number of volunteers compared to the number of children to accompany, in addition to the difficulties of language and cultural differences. There were also many opportunities, first of all having lived a new experience in which to build relationships, experience empathy and gratitude, and also the possibility of improving one’s English, and learning to discern what is a priority.
In his Message, Pope Francis compared the Synodal Church to a river, which must bring life, sow justice and peace in every place it reaches. In this perspective, VIDES International through its many Volunteers can be seen as a river with many tributaries, large or small, which through voluntary actions reach those in need as the Synodal Church does, sowing peace and solidarity.
I think this could be an answer to the question posed by Pope Francis in his Message: How can we contribute to the mighty river?
I live in Poland. There is a conflict in Ukraine, just 200 km from my house. Children who come to Poland are in a difficult situation and need psychological support and activities that help them forget at least a little about the difficult situation in their homeland. I think that after the end of the camp, the children felt at least a little included in the Polish community. The positive presence of VIDES volunteers could help children learn to take care of others. It only takes one child to start a change that can bring peace.
This river must not stop with the closing of this year’s Season of Creation. VIDES must continue to make its contribution to the mighty river through concrete actions such as education in integral ecology, but also in many other aid campaigns, support initiatives and collections for the poor, also collaborating with other non-governmental organizations.
