Romanian non-profit Geeks for Democracy has opened a call center for Ukrainians arriving in the country.

The call center, which became operational on March 10, offers information in Romanian, English and Ukrainian to those who phone 0377.300.300.

It is hosted by Impact Hub Bucharest, in its Universitate venue. 

A team of volunteers is available to take the calls between 8:00 and 22:00 and direct requests to specific organizations and public institutions responsible for areas such as transport on Romania’s territory and international one; accommodation in Romania; free medical services; legislation and procedures for paperwork, employment, or entering the national education system, among others.

The call center will operate for the time being from its Impact Hub location, but, depending on the needs, remote volunteers might get involved to provide services such as research, translation, and more. 

Ukrainian and Russian speakers who want to volunteer for this project can register here. 

More than 400 people answered the non-profit’s call for volunteers, and 75 are now trained to answer the line of the call center.

Geeks for Democracy said the initiative was an answer to the humanitarian crisis that started with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and is meant to support the refugees who arrived in the country. 

The immediate needs of those who enter Romania relate to transportation, accommodation, food, clothing, and medical services, and the associations working on the ground find it difficult to manage the cases, especially in the absence of translators, the non-profit explained. The Solidarity Call Center is an additional answer, aimed at supporting authorities and NGOs in scaling their efforts, it said.

The call center solution is offered by Anya, part of Nobel Group. 

Geeks for Democracy is an NGO working on the volunteering as service principle. It gathers a community of professionals with various skills - IT, digital, communication, PR, legal, design – working to support the civil society in situations impacting all.

Co-working space provider Impact Hub Bucharest has a community of more than 2,500 members and two locations in Bucharest.

(Photo: Flynt | Dreamstime.com)

simona@romania-insider.com