Meet Anya, the regional coordinator of the Stabilization Support Services (SSS) charity foundation in Mykolaiv region. Her professional career began in communications, but she decided to devote herself to charity even in the face of constant danger. In this conversation, she talks about the challenges and achievements in working with humanitarian projects, as well as the importance of helping communities in difficult war conditions.

Anya, what preceded your work at the foundation?

I am a political scientist by profession, but almost all of my professional career has been related to communications in various organizations. I worked with enterprises, deputies of different levels, and was a press secretary to the head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration. In 2018, I moved away from the information sector and, together with my colleagues, founded my own charitable foundation. I proudly recall those times because we managed to implement many interesting and large-scale projects. One of them is the opening of a humanitarian headquarters in Mykolaiv in April 2022 with the support of a Lithuanian charity foundation. My husband joined me then, and together we organized humanitarian aid. I remember when a terrible tragedy happened in Mykolaiv – there was no water for 38 days. My husband and I delivered drinking water to people. I learned about the CCC charitable foundation in the summer of 2022. I decided that my experience could be useful, and I was increasingly attracted to working in the humanitarian sphere. On January 1, 2023, I became the foundation’s regional coordinator in the Mykolaiv region.

You mentioned the full-scale invasion. How did you take the situation in the country? Were there any thoughts of moving to a safer region, since Mykolaiv was in the crosshairs of the occupiers at the time?

February 24 is my husband’s birthday. Given that my fridge was full of various foods and I was planning to bake a cake in the morning, I was definitely not going anywhere (smiles). But seriously, at 5 am I got a call from my sister, who lives with her daughter and our mother. She was crying and shouting into the phone that a plane had hit 700 meters from their house, that their house was falling down, and that windows were falling out. At 7 am they were already at my house. Then I also took my older sister with her husband and a small child. Since then, we lived as one big family for more than a year. During almost three years of war, I have stayed in my hometown because I love it very much and want to help it.

Especially now, thanks to CCC, you have more opportunities to help your hometown…

Yes, it’s true! I have a lot of experience working in many organizations where I received a good salary. I used to work from nine to six, but I didn’t understand my purpose and didn’t know what goal I was moving towards. Now I am frankly happy to see the results of my work. Recently, my colleagues and I calculated that over the two years of the CCC Foundation’s work, we managed to repair 792 facilities in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions as part of several projects. This figure impressed me, inspired me, and made me realize that our team is doing a great job.

In addition to Mykolaiv region, you are also implementing the Foundation’s projects in the de-occupied Kherson region. There, the air raid alert is almost never turned off and the sounds of explosions are heard every day. How do you manage to establish work processes in such conditions?

Although I often say that I am not afraid, sometimes there are moments when it is difficult to stay calm. Recently, we were distributing kits to people in the village of Fedorivka in Kherson region. In an hour and a half, we counted 32 explosions. The vehicle we were helping was swaying in different directions. People who came to get the kits were convinced that we would quickly pack up and leave. They came up with the words: “The sounds of the explosions do not scare us, the main thing is that you do not leave, because few people come to us.” At such moments, fear and anxiety recede. That day we distributed 107 out of 108 prepared kits. In general, people are able to get used to everything and adapt to new conditions. And when you also realize that your help is expected, that it is of great importance to someone, your internal anxiety fades into the background.

Now you and your team are working on the project “Providing vital winterization, basic necessities and shelter for the conflict-affected population in Ukraine” (NIN). What has already been done under this project?

This is a very interesting project that, unfortunately, is coming to an end. Thanks to its implementation, we are almost completing repairs in five institutions of the Bilozerska community. We managed to restore the premises for the fire department, the community police office, the administrative building in Pravdyne village for the ASC and legal consultations, as well as to equip public areas and replace the roof of the outpatient clinic. Before the end of the year, we will distribute all the planned 1,000 individual non-food packages to the community residents to help them better prepare for the winter.

In your opinion, what is the importance of projects such as “Providing vital assistance in winterization, basic necessities and housing for the conflict-affected population in Ukraine”?

This is my eighth project with the CCC Foundation. When I was offered the opportunity to implement it, I was very excited because it is significantly different from the previous ones. The project shows that life goes on and will continue, albeit in new conditions. As Anna Borysova, Director of Humanitarian Response of the Foundation, often emphasizes, we need to gradually move to a comprehensive restoration of communities. Small and medium-sized repairs are essential now, but we should prepare for the reconstruction of infrastructure facilities first.

If schools, village councils, ASCs and hospitals do not work in the community, people will not return there. Areas that remain under constant shelling cannot yet claim to be eligible for large-scale reconstruction and construction. But in order to realize all this later, it is necessary to first cope with the tasks envisaged by the project “Providing vital assistance in winterization, provision of basic necessities and shelter for the conflict-affected population in Ukraine” – that is, the repair of socially important institutions. Today, most communities are focused on the distribution of humanitarian aid and are afraid to even think about recovery. A quick response to the crisis is also important, but a comprehensive approach to recovery is our national task. Thanks to this project, we are already preparing for it ourselves and preparing our communities.

The material was prepared within the framework of the project “Providing vital assistance in winterization, provision of basic necessities and shelter for the conflict-affected population in Ukraine” implemented by Stabilization Support Services in cooperation with the international humanitarian organization CARE and CARE Österreich with the support of NACHBAR IN NOT.