The struggle continues. And she is winning it! The Kharkiv Family Support Center provides psychological help, advice and shelter to those in need
Natalia has never considered herself strong. Just the way she is: a mother of three who is used to copin with difficulties. However, life has made her realize that there is steel inside her that has been forged by the fire of war, loss and trials.
THE FIRST ESCAPE
Horlivka, 2014. When the city was captured by pro-Russian militants, it seemed that it was temporary, that the horror was about to end. But the shots were getting louder, neighbors began to disappear, and the Ukrainian flag was replaced by tricolors. Natalia realized she had to leave. Taking only the most necessary things, she boarded a crowded train to Kharkiv.
Her family started from scratch there. They rented an apartment, applied for IDP benefits, and looked for work. It was in Kharkiv that Natalia's third son, Ivan, was born, and later doctors diagnosed him with a severe form of allergy caused by excessive stress. This became a new challenge, but Natalia believed that the main thing was that they were safe.
THE SECOND ESCAPE
February 24, 2022. At dawn, Kharkiv shook with explosions. Natalia realized that they had to flee for the second time, to nowhere. This time they went to Kamianets-Podilskyi. All this time, Natalia did not realize that she was getting weaker, that the constant fatigue and pain was not just stress.
TESTING THE DISEASE
The diagnosis came as a blow: cancer. "How? Why now?" - she asked herself, looking at her children, who had already suffered enough. She returned home to the explosions, to the sirens, but in order to be treated.
And then there were complicated surgeries and rehabilitation. She lost weight and strength, but not her will. Volunteers helped with medicines, doctors with hope. A year later, she heard: “Remission”
NEW STRUGGLE
Barely recovering, Natalia stood by her son's hospital bedside again. But she did not give up. Natalia turned to Caritas-Spes Kharkiv for help because she knew for sure that they would help, listen and advise her. And most importantly: Natalia did not lose faith. Natalia received reimbursement for her medications, and her son Ivan is receiving the necessary treatment thanks to these funds, and he comes to the Caritas-Spes Ukraine Family Support Center, where he participates in free classes for children. Natalia joins trainings and workshops on psychological support for parents.
UNCENSORED
Today, Natalia and her family live in Kharkiv. A city that is mercilessly shelled by the occupiers almost every day. She left the city dear to her heart twice - and returned twice. And each time she got up after a blow. She knows that the war is not over yet. That there are still many challenges ahead. But she also knows that as long as she is alive, as long as she is fighting, her children will have a future. So the fight is on.
And she will win it.
The Kharkiv Family Support Center was opened and operates with the support of the Polish Aid program of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Poland. It is one of four centers launched under the project “Improving the quality and access to psychological assistance for children and their families in Kharkiv, Odesa, Zhytomyr and Vinnytsia Family Support Centers in Ukraine”, which Caritas-Spes Ukraine implements in cooperation with Caritas Poland.
The publication is the author's personal opinion and cannot be interpreted as the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland.
