Our Story

     Liubov is a 41-year-old unbreakable mom from the village of Solone in Zaporizhzhia, raising two sons with her husband. Before the full-scale war, she went with her children to visit her mother in a village in Sumy region, which is on the border with russia. At that time, she had no idea that her visit would turn into a months-long occupation.

     "For three months, we lived under constant shelling. It was very scary. Children still remember how Grads fired and chickens fell. Eventually, the boys and I were able to return home. Before going to bed, my 9-year-old son began to put his things in heaps - separately for his father, mother and his own, so that when the siren sounds, he can quickly pack up and run away.

     I work in a social service. When the war broke out, we started delivering humanitarian aid: we helped the local community a lot, supported IDRs. It was very hard at work, I was constantly feeling tense and stressed. In the end, I just burned out. I had no desire to live. Everything irritated me, I started to hate people, I displaced my anger on to my children. I did not consider myself beautiful; I completely forgot that I was a woman. I carried bags and packages of humanitarian aid.

     I was offered to join the Unbreakable Mom programme in Pavlivka village council. At first, I didn't want to leave. But I decided that it was necessary for the sake of the children. I thought I’d stay for a week and go home, because I had to take care of my husband’s old parents and send medicine to my mother after a stroke. And then three weeks were not enough - I would have stayed longer.

     I remember a lot: wonderful nature, friendly staff, art workshops, professional psychologists who helped me open my feelings to people who were strangers to me at that time. I was happy to work with the psychologists because I felt better. During these three weeks, I started smiling again. I changed, became an open person.

     I didn't even know that I had such talented children. They really liked drawing, painting pebbles. In the course of the programme, they made new friends. Now, I hug my children. My relationship with my husband also changed when I let go of my long-standing grudge against him. We have become a real family.

     Now, I don't take work home, I learned to say the word "no". I use the advice of psychologists to control anger and cope with stress. I became calmer and more confident. I appreciate, cherish and love myself.

     I used to wear trousers, and during a session with a psychologist, I got a desire to put on something womanish. At the end of the programme, I was wearing a dress – exactly the one I imagined during psychological exercises.

     I am very grateful to Metinvest, the Pavlivka community, psychologists and everyone involved in the Unbreakable Mom programme. The project is extremely important: you support mothers and save families.