VSB-TUO involved in helping people affected by floods

The university thus provided a roof over their heads and all-day meals to more than 120 people who were evacuated from their homes. They found accommodation in the hotel part of the dormitories, which did not jeopardize the students' arrival and accommodation. The university also offered the Moravian-Silesian Region Emergency Staff and the Red Cross to prepare disinfectant, as was the case during the pandemic. Both the MSK Emergency Staff and the Red Cross have supplies of disinfectant, but the university staff is on standby should the supplies run out.

At the request of the statutory city of Ostrava, the school shared among its students and staff a collection of items that are needed by the big-water-affected people and also called for volunteering to help with the removal of the effects of the floods. "People were interested in the collection and if someone didn't have the opportunity to take things away or contribute themselves, they turned to our sustainability manager," says Václav Snášel, the rector of the university. He was very pleased that foreign students who were already on campus at the time of the floods were involved in helping with the removal of the effects of the floods, organized by the ESN student organization.

"At ESN VSB-TUO, we believe in the strength of the community and international cooperation. Thanks to the Orientation Days at our university, we already had contact with most Erasmus students, which allowed us to react quickly when the floods hit part of the region," says Pavlína Střelková, a student at ESN. Foreign students come from different parts of the world, and so a group of volunteers faced language barriers. Here, too, ESN gave a helping hand. "ESN members were assigned to each group of foreign students, who provided translations," adds the student. The volunteer groups were numerous, so the students reached areas where more people were needed. They also listened to the emotional stories of the people who were affected by the floods. Czech and foreign students helped for five days, working 270 hours of volunteer work in five locations. Opava, Vřesina, Dubí, Svinov and Nová Ves. "This event showed the strength of cooperation and the spirit of ESN," concludes Pavlína

A total of 30 Czech and foreign students from our university, as well as from the University of Ostrava, participated in this initiative. We thank ESN and its member Pavlína Střelková, who organized the initiative, and all the students who participated in the initiative.