Ukrainian Woman, Students to Visit St. Cloud

(KNSI) – A Ukrainian woman will be in St. Cloud with a group of students from the war-torn country who are learning about volunteer organizations in America.

Irina Fursman, Co-Founder of Global Synergy Group, will bring 18 students between the ages of 13 and 18 to a speaking engagement at the St. Cloud Morning Optimist Club on Wednesday at Bethlehem Lutheran Church. The session’s topic is lessons in leadership.

Fursman says the students are here for a few weeks to learn about civic organizations.

“They need to learn from members firsthand why people join organizations like this, how do they structure their work, and what is it they want to accomplish for themselves or for their communities.”

She hopes the students will return and be able to serve their communities.

“Our job is to help them see the future and be hopeful about the future. And when they do that, and they experience the American system, they hopefully can see what they could build when they go back. Picture what kind of leader they would like to become. ”

Ukraine has suffered for more than six months after the Russian army invaded the country in February. Fursman says some students have lost loved ones in the war, have been displaced or are now refugees in another country.

Fursman was 15 when the USSR fell in Ukraine and says she fears authoritarian rule returning to Europe. She says showing kids a different way helps keep democracy alive.

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