I believed until the last that there would be no war. Although already at the beginning of February, there was a tense atmosphere in the city. Everyone was worried about the possible outbreak of war shortly, but I was optimistic and determined along with my family and friends. I was always in the vortex of projects and work processes. In such a dense flow of work in several international projects, it is hard to suspect that such barbarism can occur in the very center of the European continent. But unfortunately, the enemy had his plans.
One step from despair to hope
On February 24, I was supposed to go to Lviv and participate in the event industry forum of Ukraine. But after waking up in the morning and looking at the news, I realized that I didn’t want to leave the city because you can be helpful to others here.
The first days were stressful like everyone’s I asked myself: what to do, how to continue living? And a bunch of similar questions kept coming to mind. But after a bit of stress, I decided that I had to do something. And at the beginning of March, I joined the Kyiv volunteer headquarters “Solomyanski Kotyky.” I can only say – volunteering heals. It’s just unreal moral support because spending the whole day with a team of like-minded people and doing valuable things helps you to hold on and not give up.
The sounds of sirens, explosions, or even shelling (during the fiercest battles near Kyiv) did not frighten us. Because we went to the volunteer headquarters every day, understanding what we were doing and why. Thanks to volunteer activities, many people and military personnel had the opportunity to receive much-needed help.
Together with my husband, we created a mobile brigade, checked apartments, cleaned refrigerators, and even carried out rescue operations of flower pots. This way, we helped our friends and acquaintances who had to leave the city due to the military aggression of the Russian Federation.
Volunteering heels
I believe that my experience as an event manager at the ARENA CS agency came in handy because volunteering combines many skills of a professional event organizer:
- ability to communicate with different people
- the ability to quickly obtain the necessary information
- building a clear structure and priorities in work
- finding and ensuring the logistics of the most unexpected things in a short time
- and also – multitasking and stress resistance: there is nowhere without them.
I enjoy volunteering. There is a certain thrill: quickly finding critically important medicines or gaining new knowledge in military terminology. It doesn’t seem very easy, but you get absolute pleasure when you still achieve the goal and know that you have brought real benefit.
Of course, war is stressful, and on February 24, I had to join dozens of tasks. But I was most worried about the unfinished projects: on the eve of the war, two long-day events took place in my area, where participants from the Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhia regions took part. Some were in Sviatohirsk (Donetsk region), and the other was in Rivne and Bila Tserkva. The days of hell for me were from February 24 to 26 because the situation with transport changed every minute. Active combat operations were already taking place in the eastern and south-eastern territories. People’s lives depended on the decisions made in terms of logistics. Fortunately, everyone reached their homes so that you could breathe easily on this matter.
We all have to help each other
Since the beginning of the war, I have not left Kyiv and do not plan to go in the future. We live in a historical time when our native Ukraine is becoming genuinely free and changing for the better. I believe in our victory because it cannot be otherwise. I think that in this difficult time, every Ukrainian should contribute to the well-being and success of his native country. Having joined the Women’s Aid International Foundation team, I help the civilian population improve their quality of life, maintain mental health, and socialize in new conditions.
We can do something useful because even small contributions from everyone can do big good deeds!
