Friend or Volunteer?

Ulbosin first heard of the World Without Limits social club from Vlad Kudinov, the young man with cerebral palsey who these days co-ordinates the club, when he came up to her in his wheelchair in the park. He introduced himself to her, told her all about himself, and invited her to Salem Social Village.

From then on Ulbosin (which actually means ‘Let it be a boy’ in Kazakh), or Ulya as she is more often known, became a good friend and regular guest at the World Without Limits club meetings.

She really likes to help these great young people, all with their various disabilities, when they meet together at the social club, and also outside of the meetings. She has become a close friend to many of them, regularly meeting with them in the city and visiting them at home. She is very aware of who they are as people, despite their disabilities, and clearly loves her new friends.

When she’s at Salem Social Village, Ulya actively helps in any way she can, particularly lending a hand to wash dishes in the cafe or do some cleaning.

As she herself puts it, “This is a really unusual place! Here many people with all sorts of needs are accepted, and I want to help Salem Social Village because Salem helps so many people.”

So you could call her a volunteer – or is she really more like a friend? Such labels really don’t matter; what matters most is seeing another Global Citizen truly making a difference, and that is something to be celebrated.