Thank you for helping us support Ukraine

Thank you for your interest in our work in Ukraine. Until five years ago, we never gave Ukraine much thought. It was somewhere far away and even though we might have had ancestors from there, all in all, it seemed like it was another world. We share all that follows with the hope that you will understand why we have been so moved to create a campaign to raise funds for local Ukrainians to do the work that is necessary that connects them back to their homeland and one another.

OUR CONNECTION TO UKRAINE

Since February 24th, we have been daily witnessing Ukraine endure a massive invasion and war upon its sovereign land, with their citizens experiencing unimaginable loss, trauma, fear, and heartache. Yes, many of us continue to help with humanitarian aid such as food, clothing, housing, medicine, and other vital life-saving support.

But how do we address some of the underlying issues of mistrust, broken relationships and feelings of betrayal?

We decided with Dr. Mariia Levchenko, our Ukrainian International Director of Outreach and Training that dialogue is the most vital strategy that can support Ukrainians with diverse social and political affiliations to explore the profound impact citizens have experienced and look toward the future healing and reconciliation they wish to create. These dialogues would be facilitated by trained Ukrainians to reestablish trust and strengthen bonds of connection in order to overcome the loss and trauma during this devastating moment in history.

 

Visiting Mariia and Family in Berlin, May 3-5 2022

During a family trip to Europe in May, Jeffrey Weisberg and Heart Phoenix, co-founders of RPCP, spent three days visiting Mariia and her son Matthew in Berlin where she is currently a refugee after fleeing Ukraine a week after the invasion.

Mariia, as RPCP’s International Director of Outreach and Training, had been working with Heart and Jeffrey via ZOOM and WhatsApp to discuss the best ways forward to support Ukraine and its people. Below is the Action Plan they created together.

The Board of Directors at RPCP voted unanimously to contribute $1000 in matching donations as a kick-off to a fundraising effort. It is very important to us to have had a personal contact that had direct contact with Ukrainian NGOs to whom we would contribute.

 

THE ACTION PLAN - UKRAINE

The strategic goal of the RPCP Team is to provide support for the Ukrainian NGOs and individuals through capacity building in order to help reduce tensions, build bridges of cooperation, and directly support organizations on the ground in providing humanitarian assistance, psychological help and trauma healing. 

We will focus on four main pillars of activities:

1. Training Dialogue Facilitators on the ground; 

2. Trauma Response and Resilience Building Training;

3. Networking and synchronization with local NGOs;

4. Establishing a Community of partnerships through dialogue and collaboration

For the first and second pillars of activities through the capacity-building programs, Mariia is in the process of developing an online curriculum. She will train Dialogue Facilitators to be ready to work on the ground in an environment highly impacted by war, dealing with trauma and conflict. Mariia is a certified Trainer, Dialogue Facilitator and Coach who received her qualifications through numerous training from the UN-Habitat Programme, Soliya, Clingendael Academy and the European Union Civilian Training Initiative. Our program will be tailored specifically to the Ukrainian context and work with refugees, IDPs and communities impacted by the war. 

The third and fourth pillars will be focusing on working directly with NGOs located throughout the territory of Ukraine, analyzing their specific needs and challenges, connecting them with possible American donors and establishing a community of practice and networking. 

Our focus will be on small local NGOs that work directly with the people on the ground and most in need. A list of the local NGOs hand-picked is available by request.

RPCP’S HISTORY AND RELATIONSHIP WITH MARIIA

  • Arrives in Gainesville in 2017

  • CSP Conference Uganda 2017

  • Khmelnytskyi University Ukraine 2018

  • Bosnia & Herzegovina Conference 2019

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We are very grateful that we have a deep and long-lasting relationship with Mariia. Through our partnership with The Community Solutions Program, sponsored and funded by the U.S. State Department and supported in its implementation by IREX, we have been privileged to have accomplished fellows from around the world placed with RPCP to share their gifts as well as learn from our Community Peacebuilder Model. Mariia came to Gainesville for four months in 2017, temporarily leaving her position as a University Professor, with a Ph.D. in Economics and an MA in International Relations. She brought with her a unique perspective, many skills, and a vision to bring our work to Ukraine.

Our Visit to Ukraine - Mariia devoured the work of peacebuilding and within a short time she made it happen! In 2018, Heart and Jeffrey were funded to go to Ukraine where Mariia had scheduled speaking engagements on our Comprehensive Peacebuilder Model, Restorative Justice Training (she translated our manual), modeled Police/Youth Dialogues, and several University sessions from Kyiv to Lviv. We enjoyed several home-cooked meals at her family home in western Ukraine. We fell in love with the beauty of the country and its people were open, kind-hearted, and eager to learn and share about their lives.

  • Restorative Justice Training in Ukraine

  • Lviv Police Department with University Students at first Police/Youth Dialogue

  • Jeffrey Sharing at Khmelnytskyi National University

Building Bridges Across the Globe, Sarajevo, September 2019

We decided to offer a Conference in Eastern Europe where several countries had ongoing major problems with one another. Mariia spearheaded this conference and we were fortunate to bring in our wonderful fellows from Israel, Dikla Lev and Bosnia and Herzegovina, Aida Brdar to co-facilitate. We decided to have the conference in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina which experienced the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. With a partial grant from CSP and RPCP, we were able to offer the conference, food, and lodging free to all participants. There were peacebuilders from Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Serbia, Israel, Philippines, Bosnia, U.S. Together we learned, laughed, taught, cried, shared, danced, sang, slept, ate, and spent those seven days completely immersed in the community we created and left full of resources helpful to navigate through conflicts as well as having new friends and colleagues.

Before the Invasion

While working intermittently with RPCP, Mariia worked full time as a National Dialogue Facilitation Officer in Kyiv with OSCE (Office for Security and Cooperation in Europe). OSCE SMM (Special Monitoring Mission) responds to the crisis in and around Ukraine where Mariia was developing methodologies and approaches to dialogue processes, support implementing Monitoring Teams on the ground through coaching, training, and providing support and advice. She also monitored developments about dialogue and liaising with OSCE executive structures, Ukrainian civil society organizations, and local NGOs throughout Ukraine.When the invasion happened and we got in touch with Mariia, she was without a secure position and was working towards leaving Ukraine with her eleven-year-old son. She knew she had work to do, but couldn’t imagine him having to be exposed to the terror and destruction happening all around them. She and Matthew made the arduous trip and ended up near cousins in Berlin where she has recently received her refugee status. Her dream is to go home, but in the meantime, she is developing the necessary contacts, training, and allies to make a substantial contribution to preparation in the field.

 
 

Since the Invasion April 24, 2022

Since the Invasion: Just days after the invasion of Ukraine and several times over the past months, Mariia agreed to facilitate virtual Zoom calls raising awareness of the situation in Ukraine. She discussed possible pathways to peace, her personal experience of becoming a refugee, the experiences of other refugees, and offered ways to get involved.

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING YOUR TAX-DEDUCTIBLE CONTRIBUTION!