Russian actress and director in Slovenia volunteers to help an autistic teenager from Ukraine

The war in Ukraine has caused a massive wave of refugees and migrants in Europe. In the hope of a better tomorrow, Natalia Chernoi came to Slovenia in March with her 17-year-old twin daughters Sofia and Vladana. The credit for their journey bringing them to our country goes to the Slovenian Youth Orchestra, which helped to evacuate both the young musicians of the Youth Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, in which Sofia plays, and those accompanying them. The musician has since integrated successfully into Slovenian society and attends the Conservatory of Music and Ballet in Ljubljana, while Vladana and her mother are being helped by volunteers from Slovenska filantropija.

For thirty years, the non-governmental humanitarian organisation Slovenska filantropija has been working to improve the situation of families and young adults who, for various reasons, have had to leave their country, of individuals waiting to be reunited with their families, and of unaccompanied minors. Volunteers and mentors help them with, among other things, learning Slovenian, getting to know our country and its education system, and integrating into society. Since September, Inga Aleinikova, a Russian woman, has been meeting Vladana, who has an intellectual disability and autism, every week. She responded to the organisation's advertisement seeking a mentor for young migrants and was selected from among many candidates.

In this way, within two months, the pair became a successful team, as Inga Aleinikova proved herself in the role of mentor. “In half a year of living in Slovenia, Vladana hardly said a word either to me or to her sister. She spent a great deal of time hunched over the computer and withdrew into herself even more than before, when we lived in Ukraine. She was also aggressive; it even happened that she bit someone's hand. Now she even answers the odd question, albeit with just one word, and she is also much calmer,” Natalia Chernoi told us with satisfaction.

Aleinikova agreed with her and added: “Whereas Vladana used to bite me, now she hugs me. She is much calmer and can control her anger with the help of a breathing technique. She has also made progress in reading and drawing, and she can concentrate better on a given activity.” Natalia Chernoi finally has a few moments to herself, as she uses the time Vladana spends with her mentor to learn Slovenian. Here she is helped by a volunteer, Diana. She also attends the so-called women's club run by Slovenska filantropija, where she discusses selected topics with other Ukrainian women.

From the Middle East to South America

In 2021, 1,249 migrants and refugees were included in Slovenska filantropija's programmes. On average, 300 join each month. Most of its users are families and individuals from the Middle East, migrants from Africa, the Far East, South America, European countries, Ukraine and Russia. Staff, volunteers and mentors offer individuals and groups of migrants of various statuses (such as applicants for international protection and persons granted international protection, unaccompanied children, undocumented migrants and other migrants) counselling, information, psychosocial and psychotherapeutic support, and advocacy.

Easier integration

For her part, Aleinikova is also very pleased; her successful work with the seventeen-year-old means a great deal to her and proves that it is possible to overcome many obstacles in life – political, linguistic, professional and others – if a person has the will and the right knowledge. In Moscow, 39-year-old Inga Aleinikova graduated in acting and directing children's theatre and worked with various theatres as well as with pupils with special needs. When there was no end in sight to the Russian aggression this year, she decided in May to move to Slovenia with her two daughters. Our country charmed her with its natural beauty and its smallness compared with mighty Russia. “I have the feeling that integration is easier for foreigners here,” says the actress and director. Her husband, a musician and composer, will join her next month.

Inga Aleinikova enrolled in a vocational course in pre-school education at a private school in Ljubljana, but intends to transfer to the Faculty of Education in Primorska, studying inclusive education. In the future, she would like to set up a centre in Slovenia for children with special needs, where they could spend their free time actively and, above all, play a great deal. Until then, in addition to mentoring Vladana, she will among other things occasionally create games for children housed at the Logatec Accommodation Centre and, this time as a mentee, learn Slovenian.

She is taught by Viktor Kollar, volunteer coordinator at Slovenska filantropija. Slovenska filantropija's programmes involve 280 volunteers working in the migration programme, whom he oversees. The volunteers include secondary school pupils, students, businesspeople and pensioners. “I cannot single out a typical volunteer profile,” says Kollar, adding that they also include unemployed people who decide to take this step because, as active jobseekers, they receive an allowance of one hundred euros. Over time, however, this initial motive fades into the background, and empathy and the desire to help someone take over. Volunteers sign a volunteering agreement for one year of work. For mentoring pairs – where the mentor offers a wider range of help than a volunteer – the agreement covers at least one school year. In both cases they meet for two school lessons a week. The mentor often becomes a role model for the mentee, and children sometimes remain in such a pair for several years. The youngest volunteer is a fourteen-year-old girl from Ukraine who helps four of her peers, while the oldest is a lady of an enviable 80 years.

In this context, he also points out that there is a very high demand for Slovenian lessons. “We do not have as many volunteers as there is need for teaching our language. We will probably never be able to provide as many informal courses for groups and individuals as we would like. And with more young people arriving, the demand for learning support is also growing.” It is therefore worth making an appeal here to those who are willing to teach. All it takes is ninety minutes a week. “If we spread that time over a whole year, it comes to 78 hours, or a good three days. If you have three days a year that you could devote to someone, that is enough to change their world,” Viktor Kollar concludes.