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[[A group of friends in California is organizing food festivals to help Ukraine – volunteers cook Ukrainian food and teach everyone willing to learn. VOA Russian visited a festival in this report narrated by Anna Rice.]]
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUkraine Food Fundraiser
HEAD: Friends in California Hold Food Festivals to Aid Ukraine
TEASER:
PUBLISHED AT: 08/08/2022 at 3:08 pm
BYLINE: VOA Russian
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Los Angeles, California
VIDEOGRAPHER: Vazgen Varzhabetian
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA Original
SCRIPT EDITORS: KE; MAS
PLATFORMS: TV only
TRT: 2:30
VID APPROVED BY: KE
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITORS NOTE: Angelina Bagdasaryan is the reporter but please don’t use her name – use VOA Russian))
((INTRO))
[[A group of friends in California is organizing food festivals to help Ukraine – volunteers cook Ukrainian food and teach everyone willing to learn. VOA Russian visited a festival in this report narrated by Anna Rice.]]
((NARRATION))
Volunteers Khrystyna and Iuliia spent the previous night cooking for this food festival.
((NATS, Volunteer showing the various food items)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“40 liters of cold borscht, 50 liters of hot borscht, two types of vegan borscht. We also have borscht with mushrooms and beans!”
NARRATION
The volunteers organized this food festival in Los Angeles, California to raise more money for the Ukraine. They have already sent tens of thousands of dollars to the country and a powerful message to young people.
((Iuliia, Volunteer)) ((NO LAST NAME GIVEN)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“We wanted to let this new generation feel that the world is not all evil, that there are people who want to help.”
((NARRATION))
These volunteers says they couldn’t just stand back. Many have friends or relatives in Ukraine.
((Iuliia Khomina, Volunteer)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“We are just a group of 14 friends. This is the third fundraiser we organize to help the people of Ukraine. // Life has changed completely, there was life before the war, and now there’s life after the war.”
((NARRATION))
Halyna Bondar is a volunteer who is constantly in touch with Ukrainian refugees. She helps families get to the U.S. from Ukraine, thanks to the White House program “Uniting for Ukraine.”
((Halyna Bondar, Volunteer)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“Many people are looking for help. They can’t enter the US if there’s no one here who can act as a sponsor. I’ve acted as a sponsor for five people – women, women with children.”
((NARRATION))
Olena Tokareva is herself a refugee from Ukraine. She says the weight of the war is especially heavy when she calls home.
((Olena Tokareva, Ukrainian)) ((IN RUSSIAN))
“Very often, at the end of our conversation, my friends and relatives start crying and say, ‘We will see each other again, right?’ And I say optimistically, ‘Are you crazy? Of course, we will – we have so many plans!’ But when I hang up, I start crying, because I really don’t know if we’re going to see each other again…”
((NARRATION))
While many volunteers are Ukrainian, many others are not.
((Arnold Lee, Los Angeles Resident)) ((ENG))
“I’m very open-minded to what everyone is going through. Maybe even putting in as much time as I can to support the people who really need it.”
((NARRATION))
Volunteers say the goal of the festivals is not just to raise money for Ukraine, but also to keep the spotlight on Russia’s ongoing war against it.
((For VOA Russian, Anna Rice, VOA News))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline) Los Angeles, California
Embargo DateAugust 7, 2022 15:57 EDT
Byline((For VOA Russian, Anna Rice, VOA News))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
