How local Finnish-speaking volunteers support people from Ukraine

The REFUFIN volunteer team is diverse, bringing together people from different cultures and backgrounds. Since our mission is to support those who have fled Ukraine because of the war, Ukrainian and Russian are the main working languages.

However, many people who have just arrived from Ukraine do not yet speak Finnish or English well enough to handle official matters independently. Despite this, we have a committed group of volunteers who are able to help even without speaking Ukrainian or Russian.

Our Finnish–English-speaking team is a vital part of REFUFIN’s work.

Example: Two challenging cases in one week

We want to share a recent example from one of our dedicated volunteer Jukka, who helped out last week. He took on two demanding cases on different days, but both had something in common: the person being helped was elderly and used a wheelchair.

A volunteer’s task in these situations is fairly straightforward: meet the new arrival at the port terminal in Helsinki, stop by Verkkokauppa to take photos needed for the temporary protection application, go to the police station to submit the application, and finally take the person to a reception centre. This kind of task easily takes 3–6 hours.

Even though we have clear instructions for these situations, unexpected issues can always arise. For example, on Monday, the person whom Jukka helped had no shoes or socks — only flip-flops. After visiting the police station, Jukka took him to a store and bought proper shoes and socks. This small gesture was really appreciated by the whole House of Helsinki team.

More challenges

The case on Friday evening was a good example of how supporting newcomers with special needs can be challenging — both for the individuals themselves and for reception centres, especially during weekend evenings when there is often less staff on site.

This time, one of our volunteers, Jukka, met yet another person using a wheelchair at the harbour. He first accompanied the person to the police station to submit an application for temporary protection. After that, Jukka drove the person to a reception centre.

It soon became clear that the person had special needs and required more daily assistance than usual. Jukka was guided to make sure that this individual would receive adequate care and support throughout the weekend. As a solution, it was suggested that the person be taken to the hospital for weekend, so that their need for support could be assessed in more detail if necessary.

Jukka drove to the hospital and waited in line. In the end, it was jointly concluded that the hospital was not the best place in this situation because of the newcomer registration procedure. After a discussion, however, a way was found to ensure that the person could return to the reception centre and at least temporarily have a safe place to stay.

In both cases like on Monday and Friday the newcomers did not speak English, so Jukka managed the communication as best as he could. Often in such situations, we have another volunteer supporting remotely by interpreting between Ukrainian or Russian and Finnish over the phone.

Everyone does their best to help in such situations, but the division of responsibilities can sometimes be unclear for the different parties involved. That’s why we are especially grateful to our volunteers, who remain calm and patient even when solutions require extra time and cooperation.

We are extremely grateful to Jukka for his patience, kindness, and excellent crisis-management skills. Without dedicated volunteers like him, many people in need would struggle to manage all these procedures on their own. -House of Helsinki team