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Odesa resident Semen Turuta collects recycled materials to raise money for Ukraine. After he started recycling, local residents began collecting discarded items to help. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story.
Content TypePackage
LanguageEnglish
Transcript/ScriptUSAGM
PLAYBOOK SLUG: Ukraine Recycling – Kosstutschenko
HEADLINE: Odesa Volunteer Recycles to Help Soldiers on Front Lines
TEASER:
PUBLISHED: 11/xx/2023 at
BYLINE: Anna Kosstutschenko
CONTRIBUTOR:
DATELINE: Odesa, Ukraine
VIDEOGRAPHER: Pavel Suhodolskiy
VIDEO EDITOR: Pavel Suhodolskiy
SCRIPT EDITORS: KEnochs, Sharon Shahid
VIDEO SOURCE (S): VOA, Story Hunter
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT: 3:10
TYPE: TVPKG
VID APPROVED BY: KE
EDITOR NOTES:
((INTRO))
[[Odesa resident Semen Turuta collects recycled materials to raise money for Ukraine. After he started recycling, local residents began collecting discarded items to help. Anna Kosstutschenko has the story.]]
((NARRATION))
Semen Turuta, a 30-year-old volunteer from Odesa, Ukraine, and founder of the civic organization Dream of Free People, is taking an eco-route around the city. His goal is to collect secondary raw materials from locals.
All of this — from cardboard to plastic — can be sold to green processing companies and recycled, says Turuta. And the money he raises is sent to the front lines as donations.
((Semen Turuta, Dream of Free People)) ((UKR))
“Look! This bottle is really clean. The person who got it for us is responsible and cleans all the materials he gives us perfectly. They earn more than dirty ones! // I know for sure that each of us has some unused materials like these, and if we join our efforts, we will buy our guys more drones — and win!”
((NARRATION))
((Mandatory courtesy: Semen Turuta))
In 2014, Turuta volunteered to fight in the Donbas region defending it from Russia-backed separatists. A year later, he
((End courtesy))
returned to civilian life and started a food delivery business.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine made him change his plans. In March 2022, he started the civic organization Dream of Free People and dedicated himself to volunteering.
In September 2023, he got a bus and started going on eco-routes around the city. Every time he stops at dozens of locations where locals — most of whom were unwilling to give their last names — are already waiting to give him whatever recyclable materials they have collected.
[[ALL WOMEN SPEAK UKRAINIAN; Lisa is a child]]
((Natalia, Odesa Resident))
“I like the idea that we are recycling plastic and helping both our planet and Ukraine’s armed forces!”
((Liza, Odesa Resident))
“I really want my brother to return from the war. I miss him very much, and I want victory for Ukraine!”
((Tetiana, Odesa Resident))
“This is for our victory! We are looking forward to seeing every soldier come back home!”
((NARRATION))
Turuta also started a program for veterans who are undergoing rehabilitation in Odesa. He organizes small picnics by the sea so the veterans can relax and get some much-needed psychological relief.
((Semen Turuta, Dream of Free People)) ((UKR))
“We give them a chance to get distracted from what is happening to them and around them. Some might be in hospital often, others at home alone with no one near to share the experiences and sorrows with.”
((NARRATION))
Thirty-two-year-old Dmytro from Odesa is enjoying nature for the first time since January 2023, after he returned home from Zaporizhzhia.
((Dmytro, Stormtrooper)) ((UKR))
“It is a very tough place — Russians are pounding really hard there. I got multiple concussions in a row.”
((NARRATION))
Turuta says he wants to expand his recycling work and is looking for others who are willing to run recycling routes in other Ukrainian cities.
((Anna Kosstutschenko, VOA News, Odesa, Ukraine))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Embargo DateDecember 7, 2023 09:30 EST
BylineAnna Kosstutschenko
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English, US Agency for Global Media
