Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Interaction, migration and change
Race and social relations 265 unteers are dependent on them. Some volunteers choose not to take advantage of the free meals, while others claim that they view them as opportunities to socialize with friends. More importantly, when I have specifically asked African volunteers to describe why they assist at the soup kitchens, most never mention these material factors but instead offer more abstract and ideological explanations. Some individuals identify their voluntarism as an expression of a personal sense of moral responsibility to help other people. For others, particularly those who receive student stipends from the Russian government, it is an opportunity to articulate their gratitude to the Russian state for educational assistance. Finally, other volunteers have reflected that their spiritual faith as Christians has motivated them to help others. Nevertheless, neither spirituality nor membership in the CCM congregation is prerequisites for volunteering or for receiving assistance; and in fact several African volunteers belong to other churches in Moscow. Yet despite the divergent reasons articulated by volunteers to explain their efforts, most point to the sense of community that emerges from their daily social interactions in the CCM soup kitchens as the most important factor in their continued participation in the program. This emphasis on the benefits derived from membership in a social group is similarly echoed by Russian recipients in the CCM program. At a fundamental level, the community that emerges from the CCM soup kitchens is oriented to addressing practical needs that go beyond the meals that are served in the soup kitchen and the compensation provided to volunteers. In many ways, the role of the church has receded into a secondary position as volunteers and recipients have cultivated an alternative community based on common interests and mutual assistance. Together volunteers and recipients help each other by sharing information about sale items at markets and local stores and by assisting each other with shopping and other tasks. Recipients have helped volunteers rent apartments or spare rooms at reasonable rates from friends and relatives; in turn, volunteers have referred their friends and classmates
