An unbreakable mother whose husband died in the war: "Do not refuse help to survive the loss"
The war took away from Natalia Ivolga the dearest person - the head of the family, who had defended Ukraine from the invaders since the very beginning of the russian offensive in the east of the country.
At that time, the woman, along with her husband and little son, lived in Bakhmut district of Donetsk region. She worked as a nurse at Svitlodarsk hospital.
When the full-scale invasion began, the family was forced to leave their homes and moved to Novovasylivka in Zaporizhzhia four months ago. Natalia continues working in the medical field.
"My husband had been with military since 2014. By that time, he had been mobilised into the army. The very next day from the start of the full-scale invasion, he phoned his comrades. They packed up and set off for war. In August, on Ukraine's Independence Day, my husband died near Kherson. It was very difficult and painful to realise and grieve this loss.
Therefore, when the local administration offered to take part in the Unbreakable Mom programme of psychological rehabilitation, I set off for the Carpathians with my 6-year-old son.
It was great. Everything is well organised and planned - both for children and mothers. First of all, we were taught to deal with all the difficulties and problems we face during the war. Psychologists helped a lot, explaining how to live after the loss of a loved one, how to deal with it.
I think that all mothers who were there really needed both physical rest and moral support. Of course, I am trying to implement what we have been taught there. In particular, it refers to attitudes towards what is happening around us.
After dealing with psychologists, it became a little easier. We were taught how to convince ourselves that everything passes and eventually, in the future, will change for the better. Children and family are the most important things worth living for.
You should never refuse help. You should always accept support that is offered to you. I also thought for a long time that I could handle it myself, that everything would somehow pass by itself. But in fact, do not neglect help. Even when it seems that everything is fine with you. But when psychologists get down to business, it turns out that there is something to work on.
About the project:
The Unbreakable Mom rehabilitation programme is specially developed by experts in psychology and post-traumatic syndromes for women and children affected by the war. This is a 3-week offline camp where psychologists work with project participants. The shift where our heroine underwent rehabilitation was organised by the Masha Foundation together with Metinvest Group's Saving Lives humanitarian initiative.