Olena is from Mykolaiv, where she promoted blood donation in the city to help children with cancer.
“I immediately wanted to leave the city, but because of my seriously ill father, I stayed in Mykolaiv,” says Olena. “Two years later, my father died, and I experienced the terrible pain of loss. I decided to leave Mykolaiv, which was being bombarded with rockets. Sometimes, there was no water or electricity for several days.”
Olena left for Odesa, where her husband and daughter were already living. As the family had spent all their money on the treatment of Olena’s father, they immediately began to look for help.
“I came to Depaul scared and confused,” she says. “I was given a food kit and offered the consultation of a psychologist. I didn’t refuse. And, when I began to work with the psychologist, I realised that I would also like to become a psychologist, so I enrolled to study psychology.” Olena believes that there is an urgent need in Ukraine for specialist psychologists, and she wants to become on to be useful in her country.
“The help from Depaul’s team helped me to start planning my life again and see the future. My life has meaning again,” she says. “I wasn’t just looking for material help, I wanted humane treatment and to be listened to.”
Olena is grateful to the team in Odesa for all of the care and support she received at a difficult time