Thank you for your willingness to get involved!

“I Want to Help Refugees” started as a Facebook group in September 2015, bringing together like-minded people with the aim of volunteering their support for asylum seekers in Latvia. Volunteers continue to play a big role in our organisation, helping beneficiaries of international protection in Latvia in a variety of ways.

How to get involved?

Want to support beneficiaries of international protection?

We are looking for volunteers who can participate in weekly activities at the accommodation centres and the detention centres for asylum seekers in Mucenieki, Daugavpils and Liepna, as well as assist at social care centres.

If you want to become a volunteer, fill out the form below:

Application form

Want to help refugees from Ukraine learn Latvian?

Latvian Apply to be a volunteer Latvian language teacher by filling out the form below:

Application form

Volunteer training

Training course for volunteers

To make it easier for you to start volunteering, we have created an online training course, where you can learn about what our organisation does, the risks of volunteering and where to find information if you are helping refugees in Latvia. The course also covers the risks of human trafficking, its prevention and a class on providing basic first aid. This training course is currently only available in Latvian.

If you would like to join our team of volunteers and take the online course, or if you have any questions about volunteering with us, please get in touch: info@gribupalidzetbegliem.lv!

Testimonials from our volunteers:

“

-I first volunteered at GPB, helping in the kitchen at the café “Borscht – delicious with Ukrainian women”. Then in the summer I helped to run a camp for Ukrainian children. Then last autumn, a Latvian conversation club started at “Borscht”, where I helped run the conversation club for Ukrainian women I already knew. On the recommendation of the talk club leader, I volunteered for GPB.One of the benefits of being a volunteer at GPB is making new friends.

Elisabeth

GPB volunteer, leader of the Latvian language conversation club.

“

-First I volunteered for GPB, I helped, I helped -When the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine started on 24 February 2022, I wanted to get involved somehow, to help, to support people. At first I did it through donations, but then the opportunity arose to get involved with GPB and support the people of Ukraine in a more direct way. Although it’s not very much in the big picture, it gives me the feeling that I am doing something, helping to alleviate my feeling of powerlessness at this time and, at the same time, to help people in need in some small way. For me, it is just a few hours of my time, but for other people it is a significant improvement in their current lives.

Some of the benefits of being a GBP volunteer are the knowledge that I am helping people who are in a difficult situation. I have developed my ability to pick up on people’s moods and have learned to better adapt my communication style so that the person feels heard and listened to, but also receives the information he or she needs. I have met many interesting people in different walks of life and have also made new friends. Then in the summer I helped run a camp for Ukrainian children. Then last autumn, a Latvian conversation club started at Borscht, where I helped to run the conversation club for the Ukrainian women I already knew. On the recommendation of the talk club leader, I volunteered for GPB.One of the benefits of being a volunteer at GPB is making new friends.

Lelde

Volunteer GBP at the NGO Info Point.

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-I am a volunteer because I want to help Ukrainian refugees and to show that in Latvia we can all stand up to Russian aggression, and that this resistance does not have to be military. Working here means giving real help to people in need – help that people feel and appreciate most directly and personally. Some of the benefits of being a volunteer with GBP are the skills to deal with challenging and unusual situations and different people; new knowledge about available assistance, which is relevant not only for refugees but also for others in need. And of course, many new friends!

Atis

Volunteer at the GPB NGO Info Point.

“

-I volunteer with GPB because it is important for me to work for almost the only organisation in Latvia that cares and fights for asylum seekers and builds a more accepting and diverse society.One of the benefits of being a volunteer at GPB is the hope for a better future, fulfilment, understanding and inner emotional warmth.

Darta

GPB volunteer, coordinates activities in detention centres.

The strengthening of our volunteer movement is supported by the Society Integration Foundation from the funds of the Latvian state budget allocated by the Ministry of Culture. “I Want to Help Refugees” takes responsibility for the contents of this section.

Become a volunteer!