Volunteers Maria Taraban and Alina Datsevych: a blitz interview with the founders of the VYDNOKOLO Charitable Foundation
In the RBTNK universe, there are six characters who fight for victory together: the Defender, Medic, Rescuer (front line), and Volunteer, Journalist, Employee (home front). These superheroes are among us: with their own backgrounds, skills, and superpowers - different, yet united by a common goal. We want the RBTNK community to know more about them. So, in the Superheroes series, we talk to our heroes about what matters: why they chose this role, what their mission is, their dreams, and the artifacts that help them keep going.
In Sloviansk, we met Mariia Taraban and Alina Datsevych - volunteers who have been developing a charitable foundation since 2023. “Vydnokolo”.
Marichka, Alina, hello! Tell us about your work.
M: I’m the founder of the Vydnokolo Foundation.
A: I’m the chief operating officer.
M: The two of us handle all operational processes: from organizing fundraisers and communicating with units and brigades to logistics and reporting.
A: We also have a team that handles design, copywriting, and external communications.
What is your mission?
M: To be there for military personnel. To do everything in my power to meet their needs.
A: I think our mission is to make military personnel’s lives at least 1% easier. So they don’t have to worry about where to get a vehicle or drones. To respond quickly and provide as much support as possible.
Why did you choose this particular role in the war?
M: In the first days of the full-scale invasion, I started a fundraiser for a thermal imager for my father’s friends. When we reached the goal, I felt that this gave my existence meaning in turbulent times. Everything around you is falling apart, but you feel needed. That gives you the strength to keep going. I can’t live my life on the sidelines. Being involved in the fight is not a choice but a duty.
A: On February 26, 2022, I drove my father to the military enlistment office, even though he was past the conscription age. Then he said, “I’m going so you and your brother won’t have to. So you won’t have to see this.” And I felt that I couldn’t do nothing if my father had gone to fight for me, even though he could have stayed at home. I was in the Kyiv region at the time, then returned to Kyiv and joined the foundation.
“Everything around you is falling apart, but you feel needed. That gives you the strength to keep going.”
And who are you in civilian life?
M: Until recently, I was a project manager and managed venues. Now I’ve quit and am developing my own jam brand. HEARTMELT.
A: I am a café manager.
In your opinion, how can we build a bridge between the Rear and the front?
M: The Rear needs to understand how quickly the front is moving and who makes it possible for us to live our lives. Everyone should get involved, even if only a little. And on the military side, the initiatives organized by brigades work really well: lectures, tactical medicine, and film screenings for civilians. The Third Assault Brigade, Khartia, Da Vinci Wolves (in particular, their ULF medical service), and others do this. Perhaps it is at events like these that many civilians start thinking about military service.
A: I think it's the work of both sides. Although I'm quite an aggressive person, I still believe that aggression should not be directed at one another. The Rear needs to get involved as much as possible: if you can't donate, open a collection jar; if you can't open a collection jar, repost it. That's the basics. If everyone gets involved, things will become a little easier.
"If everyone gets involved, things will become a little easier"
Tell us your favorite story about volunteering
M: Every time we head toward the front, we receive lots of invitations to visit. For example, it was Sappers' Day - we were invited to dinner with a magnificent "spread." There was a whole cauldron of pilaf :)
A: There was even a vegetarian "menu"! They laid out such a spread for me without meat - I was delighted.
M: We're going next time - they've invited us to a barbecue. Every time, we're given these warm welcomes with delicious food. We joke that it's the "volunteering cashback" - and it's the most valuable thing. In general, all my favorite moments are memories from the east. Because most of our circle and friends are here, you transform here from a dull, gray person into a living one.
A: Yes, you sit in a room surrounded by people you knew in Kyiv from completely different walks of life, and you marvel at this feeling.
M: We try to hand everything over in person, to deliver it ourselves. And the joy of these grown-up guys... Those smiles, those eyes. Whatever you bring them, they're happy. It's wow. We call them "guys" because they are grown men my father's age who welcome us like their own children.
A: And I want to add that it is important to support fundraisers not only for media-visible brigades. We see this difference in the dynamics when we launch fundraisers for well-known and unknown units. But non-media-visible soldiers are often infantry - the people thanks to whom we are drinking coffee here right now. They are those ordinary "guys." Please don't ignore the foundation's fundraisers for them.
“All my favorite moments are memories from the east. Here, you transform from a gloomy gray person into a living one.”
What do you dream about now?
M: To freely plan a future with the person you love. To be together and make plans. To have two children. To buy a house. And a goat. A Cameroonian goat :)
A: You have me. I will live with you. *laughs* I don’t even know. I dream of everyone being brought back from captivity.
What gives you the faith and stubbornness to continue the fight?
M: The dream of a happy future with my family and children in Ukraine gives me stubbornness. I wouldn’t say faith — but definitely stubbornness, even when my arms completely fall.
A: The people around us give us stubbornness — friends, soldiers, and volunteers. They hold us up so strongly. Sometimes you think you can’t handle it, but you look at the people around you — how can I let them down? Everyone feels bad. It’s okay to rest. But they don’t let me down — and I can’t let them down.
M: And we also give each other faith and stubbornness :)
“Sometimes you think you can’t handle it, but you look at the people around you — how can I let them down?”
What keepsakes are always with you and help you keep going?
M: These are our dogs — Vasylina (mine) and Lilu (Alina’s). Our friends, who are always by our side on every trip. Even on the worst days, you get out of bed because you need to take them for a walk. They bring life. Once we drove a car here, and returned by Intercity. Vasylina rode with us like a good girl :)
A: Mine has only been with me for 3 months, but Lilu has already been everywhere. Wherever we go, she goes too.
And what’s on your tags?
M: 061 — the code of my native Zaporizhzhia, the code of my identity.
A: “Every night ends with morning” — this belief lies somewhere deep inside. Everything bad will end with something good. It’s also a line from Ivan Bahrianyi’s book “The Garden of Gethsemane,” which everyone should read.
And finally: if you could become any game character, who would you choose?
A: Sometimes I feel that we’re already in some kind of game. But I didn’t play them as a child because my older brother occupied the computer all the time :)
M: I would choose Katniss Everdeen, the protagonist of “The Hunger Games.” She’s great at shooting a bow and killing bad guys :)
0 comments
No comments yet