Pavlo Melnyk

Pavlo has been with the Ukrainian Red Cross for six years and is currently the commander of the emergency response team in the Ternopil region. “Perhaps the most important thing in volunteering,” he explains, “is to let people know that they are needed.”

For Pavlo, the most difficult moments in volunteering are when he sees children suffering. He recalls taking part in the evacuation of a seven-year-old boy who was injured during the strike on the railway station in Kramatorsk in 2022. The boy was in shock, his eyes empty and frightened — an image Pavlo still has nightmares about.

Talking about his motivation, Pavlo admits that he is most inspired by the gratitude in people’s eyes, which sometimes speaks louder than words.