Meet Anka, CEO of Depaul Ukraine. A trained lawyer, Anka began volunteering for Depaul in 2005, distributing hot meals to children sleeping on the streets. Anka has been an integral part of Depaul ever since, joining Depaul’s Kharkiv office in 2015 and becoming regional director. Now Interim CEO, she chats to us about the early days of Depaul Ukraine, how the team adapted following the full-scale invasion, and Depaul Ukraine’s focus in the year to come.
You’ve been involved with Depaul Ukraine since 2005. What were the early days at Depaul Ukraine like?
Whilst working for the Polish consulate, I began volunteering with the Association International of Charity (AIC), supporting children and those living in poverty of our Kharkiv parish.
When Depaul Ukraine was being set up, I was President of the local AIC. Alongside other AIC volunteers, I volunteered distributing food to children sleeping on the streets. From the beginning of Depaul Ukraine, I was a volunteer – it was a job for my soul.
Depaul eventually grew, expanding to Odesa. After my work with the Polish consulate ended, I was asked to join the Kharkiv team. It’s important to do charity – not for the salary, but to do something useful for other people.
How has your work changed since the full-scale invasion in 2022?
We have a lot of expertise working with those experiencing homelessness, but since the full-scale invasion we’re now also supporting displaced people and families with children.
The quality of our services is consistent, but who we support has changed. Children live in basements under constant shelling. They react like adults – they are too “adult” to cry. When children first arrive at our children’s centres, they are closed off to one another, and unable to make friends. Our children’s centres give them an opportunity to communicate, to learn, to speak with friends, to play games.
Children are the future of our country. When they come to us with trauma, we understand that the war will be with us for a long time. We can do a lot of things to give children the opportunity to see that life is stronger than death, and that there are things to live for.
What are you most proud of?
Depaul Ukraine’s people. They were my motivation to come back to Kharkiv after the initial invasion. Everyone came back – we wanted to be together. I was afraid to go back, but I saw that the team was ready to support others. A lot of people told us that Depaul gave them hope. Everyone was charged with energy. During the first days of the full-scale invasion, those living in our shelters would distribute meals to people in the metro station. The people experiencing homelessness in our Odesa shelter baked bread and sent it to Kharkiv by train. That’s our values in action.
What will be Depaul Ukraine’s focus in the coming year?
We won’t lose sight of who we are and what we do. We’ll continue to support those experiencing homelessness, and we’ll be led by people’s needs. We have a lot of needs because of the war. We need to go to areas where there is currently no support available.
Any parting words?
Since the very beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have felt people’s support. We heard from people from across the world. The war gave an opportunity for our partners in the UK, Slovakia and other countries to show who they are. We are not just partners, but real friends.
