INTERVIEW – Virginia Mărăcine: „Be a volunteer
for just a day!”
Written by Roxana
Chiocaru, Dragomir Marian-Alexandru
Last days I talked with a very involved
person in the volunteering domain. A person which through her experiences
gained throught life, can be a model for any student.
Miss Virginia Mărăcine, professor and phd.
at the Faculty of Cybernetics, Statistics and Economical Informatics, is
involved in volunteering for her entire life. And does it dearly. With the same
pleasure she answered our questions.
About what means to
volunteer, about what a volunteer feels, and about the importance of
volunteering in Romania, in the interview down below.
Reporter: I wanted to ask what triggered your wish, sustained in activity to
be a volunteer?
Virginia
Mărăcine: Wow, what a question! I donțt know if
there is a triggering moment or some point to generate this wish. I think there
are many components.
- A first component, if I look at myself, is the way you are
structured, like the way you are born, and respectively the way you are
educated in each moment of life. If you have people with compassion next to
you, who are concerned by what happen to the ones around them, who are always
willing to help, who are empatic, then they make like this also, and I was
raised until she left this universe, and I had only a few years, just 14,
grandmother Dumitra. My maternal grandmother, the only one I had met, which has
just wound dressing. And when you open your eyes on a women like this who makes
you like that, things go without saying, like you’re waking that you no longer walk past any being who
needs help. So at 5 years old i brought in the yard the first pets from the
street, so the first volunteering consisted in turning my yard into an animal
shelter, for the despair (sometimes...) of my relatives.
- Then there are moments that come in the formal
education part, like the moment you go to school. Everything that is said to
you in the first years of school leave a mark on you. I think that there is no
child and adult in this world, that does not remember what the teacher told
them in the first, second or third grade, and if they resonated with the
education and exhortations throughout the first years of school, and man will
follow them later on in their life.
- And later on, in adult life, the choices come. I
choose to this or this, namely volunteering, or i choose not to. On one hand it
is true that there are many persons who are doing volunteering, but they are doing volunteering separately,
and then we do not know each other. On the other hand, if we look in
percentage, and these days i just got some percentages from other countries, we
are really just a few people who are doing this thing in Romania. And this is
due to the fact that we are a bit manipulated in thinking that volunteering is
an activity which lacks in importance, because it is not paid. Which is
absolutely false, it does not have any support in real life. I determined that
the most important thing we can do with our lives are the ones who are not
paid. Why? Because there is no amount of money that can make you soul sing like
hugging a baby from orphanage can do, the smile of a single grandfather from a
hospital or the first buds of the tree that you planted by yourself.
- So a pretty complex answer because thing are like
this, complex. Certainly there are persons who until day N-1 did not know
anything with volunteering, and by day N suddenly that started doing
volunteering without any experience, it can be situations like these, it is
very good like that, but it’s not my case.
Reporter: You said at a certain time, in a Facebook post, that in Romania
only 14% of the people can do volunteering.
Virginia
Mărăcine: It can be a very
optimistic percentage, because if i look at what we discussed with your
colleagues from the Student Senate in December 2016, at the level of our university,
the percentage is much lower, somewhere at 7-8% of all students of the
University. The student organisation only can attract these people and make
them involve them in projects. In my opinion, 7-8% is insignifiant.
Reporter: Do you consider that we can raise from here?
Virginia Mărăcine: Sure! This is why i created the project Academia
SpEranței – Voluntariat din iubire pentru viață, and we just had you meeting
with proffesor Pătărlăgeanu to see at which stage we are with closing the
protocols of colaboration for the volunteering basis. I dream, of an ASE in
which each student did at least a few hours of volunteering on the basis
offered by ASE, each of the aproximately 23.000 students of ours. It is a long
term dream, but which i see it as achievable, even for some colleagues, friends
etc. It looks like some kind of utopia.
Reporter: Is it hard to mobilize students to do volunteering?
Virginia Mărăcine: It’s hard and easy at the
same time. It’s hard if you remain at the same idea that “our students belong
in the category “youth these days”, and these youths are not interested, it is
negligent, if it’s not profitable immediately it will certainly not participate
in any activity…”. Yes, then it’s hard to determine any young people to do
anything not just volunteering. I think that it’s about something else. It’s
about the power of example: if you have a good example which you students find
interesting, then certainly you come towards them. Secondly it’s about
answering honestly, but with sense and utility at the question “What good for
me to do this activity?”. And if you have a good answer at these 2 aspects,
surely students will come towards volunteering. 100% would be an abberant
percentage, maybe not even reacheable at start, but when they will see the
results, they will also see the utility and will understand why, I am convinced
that it will not be any difficulty making the students wish volunteering.
Reporter: What is from your point of view the biggest obstacle in front of
volunteering? Why is it hard developing projects?
Virginia
Mărăcine: The biggest obstacle that I see in this
moment for Romania is the fact that this activity is thrown in derision by the
fact that we are made to believe that by anything we do we must win something
and that winning to be always material, if we don’t have a material win, then
it’s not the case to be interested in that activity. We have role-models if
almost all the social-economic life, we are even being insisted with
“role-models” like persons with considerable amounts of money in their
accounts, and these amounts are not made in volunteering activities. And
because most of society consider that the ones with money and role-models, it’s
considered that we must run after that lifestyle, and not waste our time volunteering.
On the other hand, i think it’s difficult
that lately it doesn’t talk almost anymore about the fact that extremely
important thing in this country were made by volunteering activities: from
sites like Bumbești-Livezeni, where
people worked for years just for accomodation and food, without any kind of
salary, and activities like ”to put hand to hand to build”. The Romanian
Athenaeum in Bucharest was build through the project ”Give a lion for the
Athenaeum”.
Then nothing it is said
about the mutual benefits of volunteering, and people do not see them or find
by themselves. If we look, for example, at projects like ”Students integrate
volunteering” (at which we seriously thought and we already looking to see how
to put in practice at ASE Bucharest). Integrating students who need
accomodation when then come in an universitary center like Bucharest, in
retirement homes or orphanages to become like real ”homes” in which, in the
account of the accomodation and meals, in their free time, students come to read
a book with old people who are alone, helping kids do their homework when they
come from school, go play with them, teach them using a computer, to accompany
them in little hikes etc., ofers a win-win situation, student win and young
children and old people win.
Reporter: A very ambitious project...
Virginia Mărăcine: Yes, but which is a reality in other
countries...I do not think that our youth or our people are less capable, on
the contrary, i am convinced that we have the same abilities, even better, because
we were obliged to adapt to much more solicitant situations than people who
have a better administrative system, who saves them from much thinking and
imagination. Then why couldn’t we have it? Sure it can!
Reporter: Can volunteering help Romania?
Virginia
Mărăcine: Oh yes! And it does!
It does even if we do not see the volunteering activites because they are not
promoted. I repeat! I see around myself many people who do volunteering
actions, wheter they do it one hour a day, or helping punctually, only there is
too little promoting, the visibility of volunteering actions is almost null.
Then how can you give an example to the youth, if in mass-media the information
about beautiful volunteering actions are missing completely, and people live in
the custom ”eh, only the people who have nothing to do with their life do
volunteering, to not be bored”, it is not true, not true at all!
Reporter Intervention: It is not a waste of time...
Virginia Mărăcine: NO! On the contrary, it is a win!...Only if i
think about my colleagues in the volunteering group ISU-SMURD, with a few
exceptions that do not work yet because they are students, they all work, have
an ocupation and do volunteering at ISU, have become and are becoming
paramedics (we are already 13 absolvents of the specialized course only in
Bucharest), meaning they specialise in making qualified volunteering. So it
can, it is not a waste of time, and no one complains that ”Oh, but how muh time
takes, how much i spend to...”. We can mend all and ascertain that it is not
chore, especially when you see how much need is from your activity, no matter
how small the piece you think you can do at a moment. There are many things to
do as a volunteer. We have mountain deforestation that we can forest through
volunteering. We have people that die in loneliness and can live their last
days, no matter how many there are, with someone, meaning to benefit from a
high quality of life, no matter how long that life is. But, for all these to
happen we need EDUCATION firstly and then instructions. What it is done in
schools and universities is mainly training. Only that can fit into school
curriculum.
Reporter: You mentioned about the ISU-SMURD volunteering and we wanted to
congratulate you for graduating the SMURD Paramedic course with the biggest
grade of your series., 9,49.
Virginia Mărăcine: Yes, an extraordinary experience...Because we
went through the first 240 hours in the savior status 2 at ISU-SMURD, we had
the right to be registered to be schooled as paramedics. From the moment that
we graduated that course, i gained competence and the right to go on a SMURD
ambulance, to joind the extrication crew, and the firefighters. I wish to climb
onto to saving ladder, but that is the next step...I understood that we will go
through a training programme, the ones who wish to make rescues at hight.
Reporter: In the condition in Romania, how big is the need of medical volunteering
at current times?
Virginia Mărăcine: Big, very big. And to be precise, we talk here
about medical volunteering from 2 areas.
- Firstly, we
talk about the medical volunteering that means volunteering presence in
hospitals, besides UPU, here extremely valuable students from medicine, and
medical assistant students, which contribution in volunteering is indisputed
and extremely useful in the condition that our hospitals are lacking in doctors
(it is a reality that we must accept). On the other hand, next to this
qualified medical volunteers who can do volunteering in the hospital part,
still in hospital i see extremely important the role of psichologists, also of
psychological support group of ill people. And this could come from NGO-s, but
not only from them, and here it is not much place for volunteering.
- Then we talk
about the second component, which means volunteering in pre-hospitals,
consisting in building a self sustaining group of volunteering saviours of ISU,
in Bucharest and in all Counties of the country. And here i can talk knowingly
because – i repeat – am already a volunteer in the first generation of
volunteers in the project ”Saviour by passion” launched by the General
inspectorare of emergency situation in 2016, and from March 2017 SMURD
paramedic. Last year they were accepted, integrated and formed in the first
training courses 740 volunteers in the whole country, 29 are in Bucharest, and
this year the programme continued with the second series of volunteers, three
times more numerous. The need of volunteers is very big on this second
component. An enourmos number of activities outside the sphere of emergences in
communities are resolved with volunteers in other countries, here it’s only a project on the beginning step, so the need is immense.
Indisputable!
Reporter: How do you see the medical volunteer and how is it looked after the
unfortunate event from 2 years ago at Colectiv club?
Virginia Mărăcine: From 2 points of view: (1) Firstly i look at it
like the necessity of volunteers, us, the ones accepted since last year as
volunteers in the ISU-SMURD system, to be instructed as paramedics (and this
process already started), to be prepared in the tehnics of giving medical
qualified first-aid. (2) And then as the need to be integrated in a program of
knowing everyone around one, from children to old people on several levels:
identifying emergency situation and avoiding them as much as possible,
minimizing risk exposure. Because at Colectiv, let’s be
honest to eachother and admit, it was about an maximum exposure to risk. To
willingly lock yourself in an can with just an vent, and not with the bad will
of participants, the concert and his beauty, the spirit of youth community it’s
indisputable and it’s naturally to take place, it’s normal to organize these
kinds of manifestations. The space was completely inadequate, with an
unpermitted exposure to risk, exposure which could be reduced if more of the
youth that participated at that concert were instructed and had the general
knowledge to identify these kind of emergency situations, certainly the victim
numbers of Colectiv would be much lower.
I believe that information and awareness
can save lives: my student, Laszlo Palhazi from Business Analysis Master proved
it, one of the three survivors from ASE at Colectiv. After he recovered he come
to the Faculty and told me that his surviving with minor consequences over his
health (compared to other friends present at the concert) it was due to the
fact that he followed survival tehniques courses a few years back, so he could
identy that a certain fireworks fire can transform into the tragedy that
actually was. This is one of the reasons why I created the projects “Academia
SpEranței – Voluntariat din iubire
pentru viață”, to share knowledge of live saving. And we all can and must to
contribute to this sharing process. As the number of the people share these
informations the more lives can be saved. And in this moment, us ISU-SMURD
volunteers, the ones who can go and present first-aid tehniques, talk to young
people about how to identify corectly the risky situations, about how to
prevent and minimize risks.
Reporter Intervention: Next there was the project with the SMURD caravan
in the Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies of Academia SpEranței?
Virginia Mărăcine: The SMURD caravan came to ASE as one of the
stipulated activities in the protocol of colaboration between the Bucharest
Academy of Economic Studies and the Department of Emergency Situations in the
Ministry of Internal Affairs, protocol that was gestioned by the project
”Academia SpEranței”.
It is an activity that
practically opened the first-aid courses being prepared to be offered to the
students and whole academic community of
ASE, through the instructors of the training center for SMURD of ISU
București-Ilfov. So that was, let’s say it like that,
the start moment, the gate that opens the long way towards to permanent
practice of first-aid courses.
Reporter: What are the future projects of Academia SpEranței? What is it aiming?
Virginia Mărăcine: We are aiming to grow, and the new projects
launched in 2016, ”Academia Speranței – Voluntariat din iubire pentru viață”,
it’s doing just that, moves the activity “Hope Academy”
from the answer “present and ready to help” when we are being asked to
intervene at need, answered offered to disadvantaged communities, students,
teachers, auxiliary staff with special problems that can not solve alone
(medical problems, financial nature etc), respectively from the humanitary
campaigns from Easter and Christmas (fundraising for gifts and spending these
holidays together with the kids, and with the old people from asylum), towards
the education activity. First-aid courses and a correct reaction towards an
emergency situation, pass our activity in the education domain, leading to an
impressive rise considering the dimension of the academic population which is
going to be geared, because almost 23000 students from ASE will benefit from
this.
The second rising zone is the one reffering
the institutionalization of volunteering in ASE.
Just because I am aware of the necessity of
volunteering, I said that from 7-8% of volunteers present in the student
organisations from ASE, there is the need to reach in a medium to long term to
a share of 60-70%, comparable with the one from every other civilized country.
It may seem utopic, but I think it’s tangible. The important thing is to discuss,
to communicate, to understand what is the need, to understand what are the
benefits, not searching for them or wait for the material ones, because
volunteering brings much more important benefits that material ones.
Reporter: What would tell to a student who never had done volunteering till
today about this domain?
Virginia Mărăcine: I would tell him to try, firstly before having a
strong opinion, whether he does, whether he doesn’t, he should try! It’s
similar to settle your option for a proffesion, for a colour or food. Before
saying that you don’t like, you must try. And after that, qualified, i will
believe you when eventually you will say „i don’t need volunteering, i don’t
like volunteering” or „ i don’t find any satisfaction, i don’t see the utility,
i don’t understand why i have to lose time in this way”. I urge him „Firstly
TRY! Be a volunteer at least for a day!”. Discover the joy of helping your
people from love and altruism, join a new community of people from an special
beauty that will change your world always in good!
I am convinced that after
this try, once the appetite is opened, he will never quit volunteering, no
matter what domain he is practicing.
Reporter: Thank you!
Virginia Mărăcine: Dearly! It is always a pleasure to talk to you, students!
