Ukrainian volunteers step up to translate

A TEAM of 16 Ukrainians has decided to give back to the volunteers who helped them when they first arrived in Ireland, by becoming volunteer translators at the Citywest Convention Centre.

The convention centre became a processing centre earlier this year, for people fleeing the war in Ukraine and Intentional Protection applicants.

Tricia Nolan, manager of the South Dublin Volunteer Centre, has led the teams of volunteers in the centre since it became a processing centre last March.

“At the beginning, when the hub opened, we had a lot of Irish people of Ukrainian descent who came in to help us,” said Ms Nolan.

These volunteers spoke to the newly-arrived Ukrainians and found that several of them wanted to volunteer as translators, so the volunteer centre set up a formal volunteer translator system.

“We have about 16 Ukrainians who volunteer with us,” explained Ms Nolan. “They love it. They feel they’re giving something back to Ireland and that they’re doing something meaningful.

“We have community volunteers on site, and they work alongside the Ukrainian volunteers. It has a positive effect, because we see ourselves as one team.

“Friendships are being formed, and there’s also a really important process of integration because everyone is working together.

“We’re getting to understand from the Ukrainian volunteers what’s actually happening on the ground in Ukraine, and it reminds us why we’re there.”

The processing centre is a constant hive of activity, as there are typically 800 people there at any one time, waiting to be processed and then transferred to accommodation.

“There’s always a critical mass of people there,” said Ms Nolan. “There’s a huge number of International Protection applicants and Ukrainians.

“These people are arriving here seeking refuge and would probably rather be back in their home countries than being in Ireland on a cold winter’s day.

“We’re doing all we can for them as a country, but there are still large numbers of people coming and there are problems with finding accommodation.

“Citywest is like a constant holding area because of that. These people that are coming here, they’re seeking refuge, that’s why they’re here, and we have to show them dignity and respect.”

This is a core principle of the work that’s carried out by volunteers, and Ms Nolan added that there is a strong community of volunteers in South Dublin.

“Volunteering is a good way to meet other people and integrate into society, as well as the volunteers being very valuable in the work that they do,” she said.

“This is our third Christmas [responding to an emergency situation]. We were doing Covid testing before, and we were in the vaccination centre last year.

“But we’ve never had a day where we didn’t have enough volunteers, they’re always willing to help.”