Celebrating Ukrainian Women`s Strength at the “It`s Me” Exhibition
We at Mission Ukraine are honored to have participated in the “It’s Me” exhibition, where we shared insights on the incredible efforts of Ukrainian women. A huge thank you to Larysa Pyliaieva for organizing this inspiring event. It was a privilege to represent both Mission Ukraine and the International Community of Women of Lagertha.
A special mention to Oksana Korolovych, the founder of the International Community of Women of Lagertha, our valued partner. Together, we continue to amplify the voices of Ukrainian women and celebrate their resilience and determination.
Read the speech of the co-founder of Mission Ukraine, Oksana Schocher, below:
It was the spring of 2022 and I had been asked by some donors to find out what the urgent needs of the Ukrainian refugees were. I spoke to a wonderful American woman who ran a relief centre here in Vienna. She gave me the usual basic survival lists, and went on with face cream, hand cream, make-up. I said to her: “But that’s not important at the moment”. To which she replied, “aha! but not to a Ukrainian woman”.
We grew up in a society full of stereotypes. We still follow them. Many Ukrainian women are stranded around the world or internally displaced within Ukraine. They have lost their homes, some have lost their loved ones. But life goes on, and under the given circumstances, keeping a habit, the same stereotype, is nothing but a manifestation of the continuation of life.
We at Mission Ukraine, together with our partner organisation Lagerta, are trying to help these women to go on. The times of urgent needs and emergency aid are as good as over in Ukraine. We need to think about how to survive, how to stay strong and how to rebuild Ukraine after the victory. We are helping in the area of psychological support, providing legal and psychological aid to people who have lost their loved ones in this war. We have other great projects in mind that would help strong Ukrainians live through their grief and develop healthy memories of these hard times.
Let me tell you a little story about my grandmother. She was the CEO and CFO of our family. She successfully managed all operations, budgets, and controlling. She would have had a great career if times had been different and the Soviet Union had not made everyone equal, poor and unimportant. So my wise grandmother would sometimes send my grandfather to the market on a Sunday with a long list of needs and a very short budget. And she knew he would come back with good results.
Ukraine has a long list of needs. Medical and psychological is what we are trying to focus on. We know we can deliver like my grandfather and manage like my grandmother. What we need is sustained funding and trust so that life can go on for many Ukrainians: men, women, children.