Olga not only holds the role of a Food Security and Livelihoods Programme Manager for Save the Children in Ukraine but also carries the weight of being a war victim herself. She is one among an estimated 350,000 residents who managed to escape from Mariupol, a city deeply affected by the conflict.
【Living on the Edge: Every Trip Could Be Your Last】
In the morning of 24 Feb 2022, Olga and her husband were woken up at 5am by explosions. But it was Mariupol – it was 40 kms away from the frontline in eastern Ukraine and you could hear explosions from time to time. But then, in half an hour, her mum called her in tears and said that Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, was being bombed. Olga could not believe it; this could not be so.
She started calling her friends in Kyiv, but no one picked up the phone. At that moment Olga realized nothing good was going to happen. At half past seven, Olga was in the shop buying products. It was then when Olga noticed the situation was spiraling out of control, people were getting anxious.
On March 2, the town went back to the Stone Age as everything was cut off – electricity, internet connection, water. In that morning, all the stores were looted, there was hardly anywhere to buy supplies. The shelling was intensifying by the day. They were living in the cellar, where they would wake up to the sound of explosions. They would hear up to seven explosions at any given hour – bombs, mines, artillery rounds, missiles would not give them a break.
They tried not to go out of the house at all because we heard rumors that people were getting killed all the time. Going outside – every trip could be your last.
【From Survivor to Aid Worker: Her Mission to Help Children in Need】
On 21 March, 11 cars, including Olga’s, fled the city. As they lined up to the checkpoint on our way out of Mariupol, we saw that the town was on fire. From the top, Olga saw the entire town burning, literally every building. It turned out that there were more than 2,000 houses destroyed.
They crossed the checkpoint and there were bodies everywhere. People that were killed. On the road, on the sidewalk, in burned cars; covered or not, buried or not, shot dead. We were driving through a maze of bodies, it felt like it was a driving exam. In the following two months, Olga stayed in various towns, and finally ended up living in Kyiv.
In a sleepless night, Olga realised she wanted to work for an organization that helped. Olga always believed children are our future. All the children are struggling because of war, and children are the least protected. When she saw those families and children that Save the Children works with, and that is something that she facilitated, it inspires her.
There is a story that came very close to her heart – there was a household of two sisters and their elderly father in Mykolaiv. They had lost their jobs and had to bring up two children.
One girl had disabilities, and Save the Children provided the family with cash assistance. With that money, they managed to pay rent, prepare their house for winter, and buy medicine for their daughter.
Olga and her husband had been planning to have a baby in 2022, but war spoiled everything. Now, Olga wants to be sure that everyone has a place to take shelter with their children and feel safe.
In the midst of conflict, Save the Children strives to aid vulnerable children by running 17 Community Centres and Child-Friendly Spaces, which provide a safe and supportive environment for children to socialise, play, and be children again. We also open 100 Digital Learning Centres across Ukraine, provide essential medical equipment, supplies, as well as humanitarian assistance and supplies for children and their families, aiming to ensure that children, even amidst war, have the right to survival, education, and hope.
Olga is now working as a Food Security and Livelihoods Programme Manager for Save the Children in Ukraine. Her team is about to launch an initiative in Southern Ukraine aimed at supporting the economic recovery of regions heavily affected by the war. This initiative holds the key to promoting social and economic development in areas that have been ravaged and destroyed during the conflict.
I want to feel like I have a home again.
Let’s join our hands in supporting Olga and the team in saving children of Ukraine, allowing children to sustain their lives and education amidst war. Every child deserves a future.
Extended reading: a Hong Kong social worker shares about field capacity building on children protection
Besides Olga, Grace, Child Protection Technical Advisor at Save the Children Hong Kong and an experienced social worker, was seconded to Ukraine in July to September 2022 to improve the capacity of the Save the Children Ukraine team and partner NGOs. Click here to learn more about Grace’s sharing.
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