VOLUNTEERING IN OTTAWA

Our Russian group

By Anne Mozersky, Board Member

Jewish Family Services, Ottawa, depends on its volunteer corps to help deliver a variety of services. Volunteers fill many roles and help with many projects. One of the newest groups of volunteers to help out are the immigrants from the former Soviet Union (FSU). Under the guidance of staff from JFS’s Immigration and Settlement Unit, the immigrants from FSU and other countries are offered many services and programs at JFS.  They can come for language classes, outings, social events and Jewish holiday celebrations. Mara Muzikansky , the current supervisor of the unit,  works with Rita Bourianova, Alla Mazor and Adriana Jary to help the new Canadians from FSU learn the language, customs and culture of their new homeland.

The concept of doing volunteer work is a new idea for the newcomers from the former Soviet Union. Mara explained that in the FSU everyone worked—there was no unemployment.  People lived from paycheck to paycheck, but they managed to get by. The word “volunteer” meant participating in an activity that was mandatory. There was no precedent for the western concept of volunteering as a way of freely making a contribution to society. Therefore, when Mara and her team began working with immigrants from FSU, they understood that it would take time, patience and encouragement for the newcomers to understand and embrace this new concept.

The social structure of Canada is very different from the social structure this group had known in the FSU. However, once they understood that they could pay back the generosity they had received by “volunteering”, their enthusiasm took off.

Now Mara and her colleagues direct a volunteer pool of around 30 volunteers who provide valuable assistance in the areas of stuffing envelopes, the Teleshalom program, organizing special events such as Jewish holidays, World War II Victory Day,  Shoah commemoration and the monthly packaging  of donated  produce for ” Miriam’s Well”. Miriam’s Well program contributes fruit and vegetables to 115 families in the community. It could not happen without help from these newcomers to Canada. There are also younger volunteers from the FSU—high school students—who help decorate and organize activities around the time of Jewish holidays. For different events and activities, different volunteers are needed.

The JFS team in the Immigration and Settlement unit has a deep and patient understanding of the needs of new Canadians because they have all been through the immigrant experience themselves. Mara and her family immigrated to Canada 24 years ago. Upon arrival Mara knew no English. However, JFS had just been established and Mara and her family were assisted by Elaine Rabin and the agency. They were also fortunate to be “adopted” by several Ottawa families which eased their adjustment. The Muzikanskys had left the Soviet Union  because of horrendous anti-semitism and the strong wish to  raise their 2 children (then aged 2 and 8) in a Jewish setting without feeling afraid of being Jewish. Although both Mara and her husband had good jobs, they knew there was no future for their children as Jews in Russia. Fortunately, in 1980 Moscow was the site of the Olympics and the President of the Soviet Union, Leonid Brezhnev, wanted to show the world that Soviet citizens were free to leave if they wanted to. From 1979-80, there was a window for immigration and the Muzikanskys came to Canada.

Back in the Soviet Union, Mara had been an accountant and her husband, Isaac, had been an engineer. Once they mastered English, they both found jobs in their former professions. Fifteen years ago, Elaine Rabin offered Mara a job as an accountant working for Jewish Family Services. Without a moment’s hesitation, Mara agreed and has been with the agency ever since. At the time she started, she was the only staff person speaking Russian. Now she is joined by her three colleagues who can communicate in Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Hebrew, French, Slovak and other Slavic languages. Mara and her husband do a lot of volunteer work for JFS  and other agencies as a way of paying back for all of the support and assistance  their family received many years ago. The Immigration and Settlement Unit at JFS helps people from many countries. One way new Canadians are helped to feel connected to their new home in Ottawa is by introducing them to the pleasure and rewards of volunteer work.