Eugene Vovk is another recent member of the SUS INIMA family. He joined the team shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine. He ran away from the aggression with his wife and two little girls and ended up in Sibiu. He came from Odessa, where he was a 3D photographer and entrepreneur, owning an online shop for photography, drones and sports equipment. As soon as he arrived in Romania, he dedicated his time to helping as many Ukrainian refugees as possible.

SUS INIMA met him for the first time at a meeting of the Sibiu County Council for NGOs and authorities. The meeting aimed to coordinate efforts to help refugees. He was invited as a representative of the Ukrainian community. A few days later, SUS INIMA invited him to join the team, thus establishing a link between the organisation and the Ukrainians.

Eugene’s work in SUS INIMA is to coordinate integration programmes for Ukrainian refugees. He is in charge of identifying the real needs of the Ukrainian community in Sibiu and then coordinating efforts to meet these needs in a fair and efficient way. Thus, the Ukrainian Centre Sibiu was born, a place that provides 24/7 support for over 3000 refugees. In fact, Eugen ended up coordinating and contributing to the opening of the first Ukrainian language school in Romania. Initially the school was intended for children from grades 1-4, but soon after the school was extended to grades 5-11. The teaching staff is composed of Ukrainian teachers covering all subjects of the Ukrainian curriculum, as well as Romanian language teachers, which will allow refugee children to integrate into the Romanian school system if their parents choose to stay in Romania.

“The process has been challenging. And now I am happy to see all these children, who can still be just children. Some of them came with their parents, I saw the look in their eyes. At this age, normal life for them means going to school every day. Real school, with real teachers, using a language they understand. And it’s wonderful for me to see nowadays how many people have the same vision and share these values.”

Asked what SUS INIMA is to him, he answered like this: “For me Sus Inima is like a big brother. A friend, a family member who can support or push when needed.”