UKRAINIAN economist Juliia Melnyk has been appointed as the brand new Group Hyperlinks Officer for Bundoran.
Juliia Melnyk is a former instructor of economics in Ukraine.
Juliia is an award-winning volunteer for her neighborhood work in Bundoran.
Donegal Native Improvement Firm has appointed Juliia Melnyk because the county’s latest Group Hyperlinks Officer.
Jolene Kuyper, undertaking coordinator for Ukrainian refugees on the DLDC, stated Juliia has been doing Trojan work in the neighborhood.
“When she utilized, she was greater than certified.
“She was already doing all this nice work voluntarily, so now she’s doing it as a job,” she stated.
Juliia will work together with her DLDC workforce and the roughly 900 Ukrainian refugees at present residing within the Bundoran space of Donegal. Since she speaks good English, her translation abilities are important.
“I’m very completely happy that I acquired the job,” says Juliia, “There are loads of Ukrainian folks right here, so the job could be very busy”.
Juliia could be very grateful to the folks of the Bundoran.
“The folks of Bundoran have been so pleasant and welcoming,” she says. “And there have been lower than 2,000 folks in Bundoran earlier than the battle, so it is a large inhabitants improve, it is onerous on the native communities,” she stated.
On February 24, Juliia Melnyk’s life modified utterly.
Russian troops invaded Sumy, her household’s hometown, in northeastern Ukraine, 30 kilometers from the Russian border.
“My husband informed me to go away him there and go together with the 2 ladies. I did not need to, however we knew we had no selection with Russian troopers on the road,” she stated.
Juliia’s good friend in Sumy learn an article about Eire and recommended they arrive right here as a result of that they had English. The journey continues to be a blur for Juliia.
“We have been all in shock, so I nonetheless cannot keep in mind the journey throughout Ukraine to Poland and Germany after which the flight to Dublin,” she says.
They arrived in Eire on 17 March and arrived in Bundoran. She was shocked by the great thing about the Donegal area.
“I had by no means traveled overseas earlier than, so the whole lot was utterly new,” she stated. “However a number of months earlier I had painted a scene of the ocean and cliffs, simply from my creativeness, however once we acquired to Donegal it regarded like that, so it was like I dreamed it,” she stated.
With a doctorate in economics, Juliia taught on the college in Ukraine.
It is a great distance from economics to volunteering in Bundoran, however Juliia instantly felt prefer it. She had began working at an area bar over Easter.
Final summer time, Juliia acquired concerned within the surf membership and launched a bunch of younger Ukrainians to the waves of Bundoran.
“Clearly the youngsters had by no means surfed earlier than and so they liked it,” she stated.
The surf group has since gained a local people award for his or her volunteer work.
She additionally now runs a Stroll and Chat group, which brings Ukrainians and locals collectively on scenic walks across the Bundoran space to study concerning the native wildlife, historical past and share their tales over soup and sandwiches. She additionally works with native youngsters with disabilities and Foroige.
Juliia, after all, hopes that the battle will finish, however she is afraid of what comes first. For now, her hometown of Sumy is again in Ukrainian fingers, however they anticipate a serious offensive from Russia within the area within the coming months. Her husband continues to be a part of the native safety service in Ukraine. Juliia is as philosophical as she will be able to get below the circumstances.
“It is unbelievable that one thing like this occurs for Russia to really invade our fashionable society, I nonetheless cannot fathom it, we hope it is going to finish quickly,” she stated.
Juliia and her household stay within the Bayview Lodge in Bundoran the place they share a room. Her two ladies are actually 10 and 11, a 12 months older and so they know much more about browsing and Eire than they did a 12 months in the past.
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Posted: 09:46 am February 1, 2023
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