Building Ukraine Together

These people bring with them that kind of Ukraine you want to see everywhere: intelligent, open-minded and caring.The project values are determined not through the denial of already existing ones, but through the development and search for their own, resulting in beautiful and modern things that are equally suitable for an eighteen-year-old guy from Lviv and the family of a forty-year-old Internally Displaced Person (IDP) with three children from Avdiivka. They bring a clear and understandable idea that we have one country, which means we all need to develop it if we want to live here better than we live now. And the only way to make it better is with your own hands.

“People came from different parts of Ukraine – places like Ternopil, Kharkiv, Lutsk, Luhansk, and even Crimea. Everyone was fun, friendly and willing to get their hands dirty. And that we did! We dug trenches for plumbing pipework, cleaned out an old cattle shed, unloaded construction supplies, mixed cement and laid floors. The weather tested us as it rained non-stop almost every day and our mountain site got so muddy that it wasn’t safe for any vehicles to go up or down. We got through it with jokes, camaraderie and great music blasting out of the camp’s speaker. “

A week of changes, work and great appreciation. BUR is a project that ignites hearts and warms them to the very end. The project where you feel yourself useful. You get motivation, inspiration and become addicted to it forever.
You want to come back here again and again.
It’s where you’ll find bright and open people who bring out the warmth even if the temperatures are low and the nights are cold. Where hugs and grateful glances become the highest recognition for the efforts and work invested.

...in Lysychansk I experienced what is called a "paradigm shift". It was exactly there where I truly discovered the essence of volunteering and understood how ordinary people can change the country for the better. I’m truly grateful for such a chance, and that is why I am here again and I highly recommend you doing the same!

What is BUR? First of all, these are people who inspire you, people who are not only strongly willing to change something but are actually doing it, people who have bright thoughts and many "ideas" in their heads. On my way there I thought they would just hand me a putty knife and tell me to work, but in fact it was such a cool time off. I won’t talk much about the work, let me just say that it all started with wallpapers and ended up with them...

Our BUR) I lack the words to describe everything that happened to us in two weeks. This July has brought us not only new opportunities - opening our youth platform, - but also getting to know people who inspire to change and move forward. Together with friends from all over Ukraine, our local youth team worked and rested, shared experiences, learned from each other. It was very cool to be in a team of like-minded people. Bur is love! Love to people, to my work, my community and country! We are very grateful for all the participants! We believe that our platform will become a place where youth will cherish the values of mutual help, support, kindness and respect!

BURLAB is a place for personal changes and solidarity which is the most valuable thing we need now... Out of the most trivial things that I brought home is a time-management discipline (I come on time now but I still want to discipline myself workwise too). Thank you to the coolest moderator of BURLAB @roman.morozov1. Now I write and talk in Ukrainian (not always though, cause I need more practice). I need to correct my thoughts in that direction. The reformation process has started and it's good… I'm reforming myself, so reforming everybody around me!!!