On March 5, a workshop titled “The Volunteer’s Path in Caritas Organizations from a Safeguarding Perspective” was held, with participants including employees of the charitable foundations Caritas Ukraine and Caritas-Spes Ukraine.
Volunteering is an integral part of Caritas organizations’ activities, as volunteers are often the first point of contact with people in need (beneficiaries). At the same time, their involvement requires clear safeguarding approaches – from the selection stage to daily interaction, support, and risk response. That is why the development of safe and responsible volunteering is one of the organization’s priorities, and partnership within the network is a key tool for exchanging practices and strengthening standards.
On March 5, a workshop titled “The Volunteer’s Path in Caritas Organizations from a Safeguarding Perspective” was held at the Caritas-Spes Ukraine office. Employees from both organizations, who work with volunteers and implement safeguarding policies in their activities, participated.
During the meeting, participants jointly analyzed the key stages of volunteer engagement and support – from selection to the completion of cooperation, through the prism of safeguarding policies and practices. Special attention was paid to exchanging experience between organizations regarding creating a safe environment for both volunteers and the people being helped.
The speakers at the event were safeguarding managers – Tetiana Barabanova (Caritas-Spes Ukraine) and Marta Yatsyshyn (Caritas Ukraine), who shared practical approaches and challenges in implementing the safeguarding system in working with volunteers.
We are grateful to our colleagues from Caritas-Spes Ukraine for the warm welcome, openness to dialogue, and joint work on strengthening safeguarding standards. Such meetings are important for forming a unified approach within the Caritas network and improving the quality of assistance.
The event took place within the framework of the ACTS organizational development project “Our volunteers, our treasure – Strengthening our services thanks to inspired and well-managed volunteers.”
Photos: Caritas-Spes Ukraine
Author: Iryna Lazorevych, Safeguarding policies and system implementation manager in Caritas Ukraine
