Leanna Stoufer has already volunteered twice in Moldova, and she wants to go back a third time. In this blog, she shares her experience in the country that is currently processing an influx of refugees as a result of the Russia-Ukraine war.
Back home in Denver, she works as a victim advocate, which she has done for the past 10 years. During a volunteering journey to India, she got hooked on the act of volunteering and how different it was from regular travel. “You get to see the world from a different perspective and get to know people differently, on a more genuine level.”
Leanna was already involved with many social justice and activism opportunities in the past. When she heard about the war in Ukraine, she wanted to see how she could make a difference. “I searched specifically for a volunteer opportunity with Ukrainian refugees. That’s when I read about United Planet’s program in Moldova. I liked that it was a country I hadn’t visited yet and that it was such a small country that was dealing with a big refugee influx.”
Leanna was touched by all the stories of Ukrainian refugees and wanted to help in any way she could. When she arrived in Moldova, she soon felt welcomed. “It’s always a little nerve-wracking, arriving in a different country, but also exciting. Moldova felt welcoming from the first moment I got there. Once I arrived in Moldova, Dmitri was there to pick me up from the airport and take me to my accommodation. It felt like I was in good hands.”
With her background in legal advocacy, she wanted to use her skillset to help survivors of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment. She couldn’t do the exact same work she was doing in Denver, since she was new and didn’t know anyone. “Because of the sensitive nature of the work, a new volunteer can’t directly work with the survivors.”
Instead, Leanna was tasked with supporting the workers. “The first time around I was tasked with translating a large document that was a guide to providing service to domestic violence survivors.”
During her volunteering quests in Moldova, Leanna was able to build a strong relationship with the people at the local organization she was volunteering with. “It’s such a wonderful organization that is doing a lot of hard work for the refugees. They do similar work to what I do back in the U.S. It’s really cool to feel as if you have colleagues in a completely different country and to learn more about how they work compared to what we do in the U.S.”
The second time Leanna got to Moldova, everything felt familiar to her. “It almost felt like a second family. Everyone on the team was so wonderful and very helpful. That shared passion for social justice, for making the world better, and for serving people that may not have a lot of options really brought everyone together. It’s great to see people being passionate about their work.”
In fact, her experiences in Moldova were so positive that she wants to go back a third time. “I’m not sure yet when exactly I can go back, but I definitely will go back!”
ABOUT UNITED PLANET
United Planet is a non-profit organization with a mission to create a global community, one relationship at a time. Established in 2001, United Planet offers volunteer abroad, virtual internships, internships abroad, gap year volunteering, and global virtual exchange in more than 40 countries.
