When the war broke out, she couldn’t imagine not being on the border
Dominika needed to find herself after the pandemic. She comes from eastern Slovakia, but life took her to Bratislava, until at one point she suddenly didn’t know where she actually belonged. She decided to take advantage of telecommuting options and move back to find out. Terminated contract in rented apartment, packed things, train home. And at once – war. “Russia attacked Ukraine in those days when I was returning home. I had many questions and uncertainties. Among them, what I will do if the war comes to us too,” Dominika Kislíková recalls the fear that accompanied her on the way home.
In the end, her story took an incredible turn. Her friend at the border has been helping people fleeing Ukraine since day one. Dominika decided to join her, not knowing what awaited her. She was filled with fear and the need to help. She got off the train, took her things home, drank coffee with her parents and went to the border, where she spent almost a month. She only went home to sleep, but even her sleep was often interrupted by a ringing mobile phone.
“We were there only as individuals who were not organized by anyone. Gradually, thanks to the vests from the firemen and the police, we joined the yellow team of volunteers at the border crossing in Ubli, and in a few days we organized ourselves. There were five of us coordinators and we had an overview of everything that happened there. We distributed services to people who came to the border to help, but we also addressed the individual needs of those who fled the war,” she recalls of March 2022, which she spent at the border. It talks about huge chaos, tension, fear, but also about touching stories. The excess of emotions could not even be processed, one could only allow himself to be surrounded by it. Although it exhausted her emotionally and physically, she could not imagine not being at the border.
Dominika remembers four violinists who suddenly started playing in the dining room while dinner was being served. Or a young Ukrainian living in Slovakia, whose mother hid his passport so that he could not return and fight. He was constantly trying to cross the border. “We convinced him not to run, to stay with us and help the fleeing people. He was very useful for us as a volunteer with Ukrainian. In the end, he stayed,” says Dominika.
Organizations that have extensive experience with interventions in war zones gradually took over the care of people on the run after non-professional volunteers, and Dominika and the others left the borders. However, their help did not go unnoticed. Ubľ volunteers received the Heart in the Palm and White Crow awards.
Dominika spent an intense four weeks at the border. She would not be able to help to such an extent if they did not meet her at work. “Henkel Slovakia responded very promptly to what was happening. We were given the opportunity to use 5 working days in addition to the normal holiday to help Ukraine. I took another vacation and I agreed with my manager on a more flexible regime, so I managed my work in such a way that I could handle everything,” explains Dominika. At the same time, he highlights that five volunteer days were also used by colleagues in Bratislava, who went to the center in Gabčíkov to take care of people on the run, helped with collections, even a few colleagues came from Bratislava to help in Ubla.
After some time in eastern Slovakia, Dominika finally moved back to Bratislava and continues to volunteer at Henkel helps, the volunteer program of Henkel Slovakia.
People who believe that helping makes sense have an open door at Henkel Slovakia. They can choose from the activities offered by the employer or come up with their own initiative and thus get the opportunity for development.
Building your own castle is cool, so volunteer
Martin is happy to see the result – the change, when something is left behind. He says that when someone makes a mess, someone else has to clean it up. His volunteer activities also started by collecting garbage in the forest near Bratislava. “After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, I helped at the border in Ubli, and I am also involved in the restoration of the Biely Kameň castle near St. Jura. How many people have the opportunity to build their own castle? I thought it was very cool, so I joined,” he admits.
When he first saw the castle, it was an overgrown ruin. Today, he could show visitors the progress that was made possible thanks to his work. “I go there on weekends when I have time. Usually it’s like once a month. We carry stones, build scaffolding, shovel sand, help bricklayers,” says Martin, who also brought several friends to volunteer work, who come to help with him from time to time.
The civil association Castrum Sancti Georgii takes care of the restoration of the castle, which provides material and the help of experts. Not just any bricklayer can work on a historical monument. “He must know the procedures and know how to handle the appropriate materials,” explains Martin.
In addition to volunteers, considerable money is necessary for the restoration of the castle. The work of such experts and the material are items that require a lot of money. Therefore, Martin expanded his volunteer activities with the financial help he managed to get. “I also supported the project with the MIT grant (Make an impact on tomorrow) from our company Henkel. I found out from the civic association what they needed the most, I prepared the documentation and waited to see how it would turn out,” says Martin. Martin’s projects for the restoration of Biely Kameň Castle have already been selected twice from among the applicants.
“For me personally, it is important that I work for a company that supports volunteer initiatives. I’m very happy that he creates his own projects in which people can get involved, but also supports activities in which employees get involved along their own axis,” concludes Martin.
Henkel Slovakia has already supported 90 projects with a total amount of €120,000 as part of the MIT program. Most often, it concerns the reconstruction of castles or children’s playgrounds, education, rehabilitation of people with disabilities, children’s camps or aid to hospitals.
It makes sense to help, even if you eat the same breakfast for half a year
Going abroad to volunteer has been Mária’s dream since childhood. When she reached a certain stability in her personal life and gained enough experience in her job, she told herself that she had the space to make this dream come true. She became a Catholic Charities volunteer and started planning a trip to Rwanda. She was ready to quit her job. The first step was to report it to my manager. “She reacted sweetly and shockingly. She told me that it was out of the question and, together with other superiors, they did everything to make my dream come true and then return to my position,” explains Mária.
She spent a whole day packing for Rwanda. What to take to an unfamiliar environment in which to spend the whole semester? In addition to clothes and toiletries, she took the food she is used to in Slovakia. And she did well, because life in Rwanda is completely different from Europe in everything, not excluding gastronomy. “We had toast bread with jam for half a year for breakfast. Overall, people there don’t think much about food, they eat to eat. They want to ward off hunger, they are not worried about suitable combinations. My local colleague was eating a pancake with jam and cabbage,” he recalls.
As part of her volunteer service, she ran a children’s center. In addition to supporting teachers, farming and learning English, she was also in charge of fine motor skills classes with children. “Education in Rwanda does not focus on such activities at all, nor on any kind of creativity. I taught the children to cut or play with legos. However, since we started from scratch, I saw huge progress in them, which filled me up,” says Mária. However, she admits that she has gone through more than one crisis. The culture and functioning of society in Rwanda are set differently than in Slovakia, and it was difficult to adjust.
“The locals said that people in Europe have watches, but they in Africa have time. It was not possible to agree on an exact date, for example, the parent association. It happened that people were even two days late. At first I was angry. I thought it was rude of them not to respect my time. I gradually understood that they respected their time,” she explains.
Until Mária went to Rwanda, she used to walk fast. It has slowed down in Africa. However, when she returned to Slovakia, her casual walking speed – influenced by the Rwandan passage of time – soon returned to normal. However, Africa influenced her and she still carries a lot within herself today.
“People in Rwanda live much more communally. I think of it when we visit senior citizens as volunteers within Henkel helps. Connecting generations is important, because seniors in Slovakia today live on the fringes of society and are actually an endangered minority. The majority society has the opportunity to learn a lot from them,” concludes Mária.
Henkel Slovakia also supports seniors through the Henkel Slovakia Foundation, which during its five years of operation has supported 361 projects in the total amount of €232,000.
Her work led her to volunteering, now she builds houses in Romania
In another job, Ivana might not have been able to volunteer at all. It was precisely the activities within Henkel Slovakia that led her to travel abroad to help.
First, she participated in the largest corporate volunteering event, Naše mesto. Ivana was so excited by the one-time activity that she became interested in other ways to help in the company. It became part of the Henkel helps project, which is dedicated to helping seniors.
However, her most intense experience is from Romania, where she participated in the Habitat for Humanity project. Henkel has been cooperating with the non-profit organization, which helps to get housing for many people in need around the world, for years. As part of this partnership, it sends volunteers from among its employees to help people in need. And that’s how Ivana got to Romania.
“Our goal was to build two houses and finish two houses after the previous rotation of volunteers in the region near the city of Cumpăna. We were led by a team of professional builders who coordinated us, and at the same time, the families who will later live in the houses, as well as their neighbors, participated in the construction. I liked that very much. Relationships were formed between people in the community and at the same time they participated in the result, which I found meaningful,” he explains.
Ivana initially had respect for physical work. For many who work primarily at a computer, it can be a challenge to pick up a hammer or tile a wall. However, she learned a lot and plans to use many of her skills in remodeling the house she recently bought.
A week’s stay in Romania convinced her even more in the idea that helping makes sense. After returning to Slovakia, he continues to devote himself to the seniors whom Henkel Slovakia helps as part of its CSR activities. “Time is irreplaceable. It often happens that our seniors thank us for the time we spend with them. We don’t answer the phone then, we don’t think about what meetings await us. We are there with them and for them. They live from these meetings for the next week or two. It makes sense,” concludes Ivana.
“At Henkel helps, we focus on helping seniors. It is a minority topic, but at the same time it is the future of all of us. Europe is getting older and Slovakia is no exception, but, on the contrary, it has one of the oldest populations. Not only children, but also seniors are our future. We therefore consider it important to point out the right values today, but also to improve the social status of seniors and the conditions in which they live,” explains Zuzana Kaňuchová, director of corporate communications for Henkel Slovakia, Henkel ČR and Henkel Magyarország.