Themes by tag: women
Tetiana, a 64-year-old kindergarten teacher and the head of two apartment buildings co-owners association from Hostomel. As the all-out invasion escalated, she did some prepping. She swiftly opened the basements of two condominiums she oversees, furnishing them with wooden pallets to provide refuge for over a hundred individuals, including a two-month-old infant. Tetiana and her neighbors rallied together, cooking meals in her apartment and even on the streets when communication lines went dead. Tragically, her husband fell victim to a blast wave, sustaining injuries.
On March 5, the invaders seized control of residential properties, compelling residents to seek shelter in the basements. Despite attempts to evacuate to a neighboring area, their efforts were thwarted as occupiers insisted on relocating them to Belarus, a proposal vehemently rejected by the locals. Tetiana herself could only escape the besieged town on March 11, 2022.
For reference: Fast forward to April 2, 2022, when Ukraine regained full control over the Kyiv region from Russian occupation, followed by the Chernihiv region liberation by April 6, 2022. By April 11, 2022, then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, proudly announced retaking the state border in the Sumy region.
Olena Yuzvak found herself under the occupation immediately after the beginning of the big war. Hostomel, a town in Kyiv region, where a doctor was staying, was captured by the russians. Olena stayed there to continue working and helping people who could not leave. Olena distributed medicine and cared for the wounded until the occupiers captured her. The doctor was released a day later, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian military liberated Hostomel. Olena immediately returned to work and began working to restore the medical institutions she managed. One of these facilities is located in Moshchun village, Kyiv region, which was destroyed by a direct hit in the shelling. With the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it into an energy-independent Invincibility Center. The Health Center in Moshchun has been successfully operating since its opening. Currently, the doctor continues to work on the restoration and opening of modern medical facilities.
For reference: on April 2, 2022, Kyiv region was completely liberated from russian occupation. By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces fully liberated Chernihiv region. On April 11, 2022, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that full control over the state border in Sumy region was restored.
At the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion Alina Kozytska, an activist from Mariupol, was in her hometown. A few days after the big war started, the girl moved from her apartment to her parents’, and when she returned to collect her things, the occupiers had already settled in her home. For three months, Alina lived in a cellar with her parents and heard how the city shuddered from enemy shelling. On May 2, 2022, the girl and her grandmother managed to leave for the Ukraine-controlled territory, Alina’s parents evacuated later.
In the capital, Alina opened a branch of the “YaMariupol” Center – “YaMariupol. Youth,” which works with young Mariupol residents and conducts various activities ranging from tactical medicine training to sports competitions. During the first year of work, the team managed to open centers in 11 cities of Ukraine and two more abroad – in Poland and Germany. All the branches of the organizations are currently united in their work on joint projects.
In the summer of 2022, Alina directed the film “Youth Front of Ukraine,” where she also acted as an interviewer, who talked with 22 young people about their social activities. The people featured in the documentary are refugees, soldiers and volunteers. Currently, Alina is working on the second part of her movie.
For reference: “YaMariupol” is a network of support centers for Mariupol refugees throughout Ukraine. The goal of the organization is to support people who survived the horrors of the blockade and occupation of Mariupol.
Svitlana Humeniuk is now the director of the Kolonshchyna Lyceum, a village in Bucha district that went through the occupation. At the time of the full-scale russian invasion, she worked as a Design and Technology teacher and a leisure-time activities teacher.
At the end of February 2022, the occupiers encircled the village of Kolonshchyna. People were prohibited from leaving. Many civilians who tried to escape the occupation spent the night in the school.
Svitlana and three other teachers risked their own lives to help their fellow villagers: they joined the distribution of humanitarian aid and even delivery efforts. All this was despite the shelling and enemy missiles. To somehow protect themselves from the occupiers, they wore white ribbons on their sleeves. In addition, some families with children, including students of the lyceum she now heads, took refuge in Svitlana’s house.
Ukraine’s Armed Forces liberated Kolonshchyna village in late March 2022.
For reference: on April 2, 2022, Kyiv region was completely liberated from russian occupation. By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces completely liberated Chernihiv region. On April 11, 2022, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that the control over the state border in Sumy region had been fully restored.
“Darling, I Live on!” is a psychological support project for women who lost their husbands in the war. It operates in Zaporizhia.
In March 2023, activist Yaryna Herashchenko was approached by a family friend who had lost her military husband who asked her for support. Then the women came up with the idea to create the project “Darling, I Live on!” Yaryna’s mother, who is a psychologist, got involved as well.
Over the course of a year, 22 participants joined the project. As part of the initiative, women receive psychological aid and support on their way to recovery. In particular, they take part in various activities: archery, yoga and Thai boxing. Women also participate in field sessions. For example, on the island of Khortytsia, the participants wrote letters to their loved ones, made small paper boats from their messages and sent them down the Dnipro. They also treated each other to their loved ones’ favorite dishes.
The participants are also taking part in two photo projects: “Memory of you” (photos with memorabilia that help the participants tell the stories of their husbands) and “Darling, I Live on!” (“awakening photo shoot”). Group 4 meetings will start in March.
Prior to the all-out invasion, Viktoriia Bobrynok used to be a school principal in Tokmak, Zaporizhia. When her hometown fell under Russian occupation during the onset of the war, she relocated to Ukraine-controlled territory. Initially employed as a secretary at a school in Lviv, Viktoriia later shifted her focus to aiding fellow displaced individuals.
She reached out to the Alliance for Public Health, an international charitable foundation, and together they established a shelter for internally displaced persons (IDPs). Initially hosting teachers from Zaporizhia, the shelter soon welcomed IDPs from various regions. However, as the influx dwindled, Viktoriia transformed the shelter into a “Safe Camp” catering to children from frontline areas. She devised a specialized program to keep them engaged, offering instruction in essential skills across various professions, including programming, alongside organized excursions. Each camp session spans several weeks, with the upcoming one slated to commence on March 11.
In between working camp shifts, Viktoriia continues to support the IDPs by coordinating diverse activities for both children and adults, including photo sessions, workshops, and city tours, aiming to facilitate their integration into urban life and hasten their adjustment to their new circumstances.
Yuliia Koval boasts over two decades of experience as a certified trainer and holds the prestigious title of Master of Sports of Ukraine in sports and fitness aerobics. Currently, she is pursuing studies at the International Sports Science Association (USA). In 2018, Yuliia was enlisted as a sports commentator for the Games of Heroes project, and by 2022, she had ascended to the position of head coach.
According to Yuliia, training military personnel presents unique challenges compared to civilians due to the soldiers’ heightened motivation, as their physical well-being directly impacts their performance in competitions. Leveraging her training in the United States, Yuliia has devised wellness programs tailored for amputees. Furthermore, in autumn 2023, she initiated a complimentary rehabilitation program catering specifically to military personnel.
For reference: Residing in the Volyn region, Yuliia Koval welcomes online or offline inquiries from journalists.
“Games of Heroes” stands out as Ukraine’s sole sports and training initiative dedicated to the rehabilitation of Ukrainian army veterans following severe injuries. Its primary objective is to facilitate both psychological recovery and physical rehabilitation among soldiers.
The inaugural Games of Heroes competition unfolded on May 21, 2016, and continued annually until February 2022 across various Ukrainian cities. Following a hiatus lasting nearly a year, the project resumed activities in January 2023.
Lutsk resident Tetiana Pototska had been originally running a travel agency that specialized in organizing pilgrimage trips abroad until February 2022, Tetiana shifted her focus when the full-scale invasion began. Moved by a friend’s inability to transport her father’s body from Kharkiv to Lutsk, Tetiana stepped in to assist and has since been tirelessly evacuating fallen soldiers’ remains and transporting them to morgues.
Beyond her duties in retrieving the fallen, Tetiana extends her aid to Ukrainians trapped in occupied regions, particularly those with limited mobility, helping them return to government-controlled territory. Additionally, she devotes herself to caring for the children of fallen defenders, arranging celebratory events and outings to the seaside for them.
Those wishing to interview Tetiana can reach her both offline in Lutsk or through online channels. She is gearing up for another journey to Eastern Ukraine soon.
From March 1 to June 1, Modern Ukraine charity foundation will organize and conduct art therapy master classes in Poltava, Odesa, Vinnytsia, Fastiv, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Yuzhne, and Kyiv. There will be more than 20 master classes in total. Women who lost their loved ones in the war will take part in the events. The paintings created at the master classes will be shown at exhibitions in Dnipro, Odesa, Ivano-Frankivsk, Novovolynsk and Volodymyr.
“Zhyva. True Love Stories” project is a volunteer initiative that helps Ukrainian women who are experiencing the loss of husbands and fiancés to rediscover the meaning of life and channel their pain into creativity.
More than 100 women have already participated in “Zhyva. TRUE LOVE STORIES” project – they created paintings in memory of their husbands and wrote their own stories for these canvases. Many paintings were on display in the regional exhibitions “PAINTING WITH HEART,” which took place during 2023-2024 in Kyiv, Lviv and Lutsk.
In December 2024, Modern Ukraine foundation will organize a nationwide exhibition featuring works by the participants of the “Zhyva” project in Kyiv.
Journalists are invited to learn more about the project and cover it.
Maryna and Mykola are both military, they met in 2019 in the army. The woman had two daughters from a previous marriage — Olena and Oleksandra. Mykola also has a daughter named Milana. At first, the family lived in Mariupol, Donetsk region (now the city is occupied), then they moved to Berdiansk, Zaporizhia region (now the city is occupied).
The couple served in the Azov brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. In 2020, Mykola resigned from the Azov and joined the marines. Maryna’s contract ended in November 2021, but she did not want to leave her brothers in arms.
When the full-scale invasion began, Maryna, along with other Azov defenders of Mariupol ended up at the Azovstal plant (i.e. Iron and Steel Works where fierce battles with the enemy took place in the spring of 2022). Mykola wanted to switch with Marina and go to Azovstal instead of her. The woman persuaded him not to do this, because at the checkpoint the russians shot three guys who were on the way to meet their girlfriends, and many others who broke through to the plant went missing. Even then Maryna understood that she and other military personnel were unlikely to get out of the Azovstal alive. And she asked her husband to take care of her daughters. On May 8, 2022, the woman died in a fire at the Azovstal.
Now Mykola is fighting for the right to adopt his deceased wife’s daughters and give them a happy future. He is purchasing a three-room apartment for the girls in Kyiv region so they could live together as a family.
With the help of the Children of Heroes Fund, Maryna’s daughters received gifts and visited a rehabilitation camp, which helped them to distract themselves from terrible memories and disturbing thoughts.
For reference: the defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days. Following the order of the command, the Ukrainian defenders stopped putting up the defense, left Azovstal and surrendered to the enemy. On May 20, 2022, Mariupol was occupied by russia.
The Children of Heroes Charity Fund supports children who have lost one or both parents due to russia’s full-scale invasion. The fund offers financial aid as well as psychological and legal support. The organization helps these children with education and development until they reach adulthood.
As of the beginning of February, 7,889 wards are under the care of the Fund. Of them, 1,062 are IDPs, 151 children have lost their mother and father, 177 are children with disabilities, 970 are children from large families. Every week about 80 children are included into the list of the recipients of the fund’s help. Among the fund’s children, 88% are kids of military personnel, while the remaining 12% are civilians.
