“Conversations about Restoration” with Maksym Revega, Head of the Kherson Branch of the International Charitable Foundation “Patriot UA”, about volunteering in Kherson, problems and prospects of the city

Today, in the new issue of “Conversations about Restoration”, we will talk with Maksym Revega, a volunteer and head of the Kherson branch of the International Charitable Foundation “Patriot UA” about volunteering in Kherson, the challenges facing the city, and opportunities for recovery. 

The International Charitable Foundation “Patriot UA” began its activities in the spring of 2022, providing humanitarian assistance to civilians and meeting the needs of the military. The Foundation has a strong team of volunteers who represent different professional areas, which allows it to effectively and qualitatively solve various issues that arise in the path of volunteer activity. 

The Foundation has officially operated in the Kherson region since November last year. “Our main goal is to help communities. For example, we donated a large gas boiler to the city, cooperated with international funds, and provided humanitarian aid. Now, we are also helping to equip Points of Invincibility, donating toys for children, clothes, and bedding. We helped the military with equipment for protection, and one of the areas of our work is ensuring public safety in front-line communities. We have a team of ten people, and each person is engaged in their area of expertise. For example, there are hospital clowns who work with children in local hospitals, specialists who repair equipment, and specialists who deal with documents. But we all work for the same goal,” says Maksym Revega. 

There are many volunteers, foundations, and organizations in Kherson, each of whom is engaged in their areas of work, but usually, all communication takes place personally. And although there are volunteer councils and other advisory and consultative associations in the city and region, they are often only formal and do not fulfill their central idea - coordination of various stakeholders for practical work. According to Maksym Revega, this leads to the parallel implementation of the same projects by different organizations, which is ineffective: “Unfortunately, some organizations like to pull the blanket over themselves, instead of uniting with other funds or volunteers. But if we are united, no one will break us.” There is a lack of a standard base of volunteers, charitable funds, and NGOs where one could quickly find an answer to urgent requests. “Volunteering in Kherson, Kyiv, Odessa are different things. I believe those people who are now working in frontline zones, under shelling, are the future of our country,” adds Maksym. 

Currently, no charitable organization or fund can exist solely at the expense of its resources. Support from international organizations is critical. After the closure of USAID, many organizations lost funding and suspended their activities. We asked Maksym Revega how this affected their organization's work and how vital international support is in general. “The reduction in American funding did not affect us at all. We have other donors. We continue to cooperate with Poland, the Czech Republic, and Spain. European donors are still ready to support us, although Europe is already a bit exhausted, so to speak,” Maksym shares. “Much humanitarian aid is transferred to us by our central headquarters in Kyiv.” 

Maksym Revega has been working with Arab countries since he was 15, lived in Egypt for three years, and speaks Arabic fluently, so he believes that support should be sought not only among European countries: "We have a twin city in Turkey - Zonguldak. After the youth forum recently held in Kherson, I contacted my Turkish friends, and they are ready to cooperate. The first thing they offered was a vacation for children from the Kherson region in Turkey. This cooperation can be beneficial for Kherson. We await an official request from the Department of International Relations and will establish these ties." 

Without establishing new ties, it is impossible to talk about the further restoration of the city. Of course, other equally important factors also affect this - the security situation, how exactly this war will end, etc. But today, we must already think about the future. And one of the essential stages of the restoration and reconstruction of the city is human resources. Maksym Revega believes that the issue of returning people is significant. “Many people who went abroad will not return because they saw a different life. This creates additional challenges for the restoration of Kherson. We - the authorities and the volunteers - must create conditions that people want to return.” 

Volunteering in Kherson is not just helping; it is a fight for the city's life, dignity, and future, which still faces the real challenges of war every day. The experience of the Patriot UA Foundation and Maksym Revega shows that despite fatigue, limited resources, and a difficult security situation, there is a powerful human potential capable of changing communities from within.