When Tamara was 13, her mother left to work in another country. That's when she started living on her own in a village in Cherkasy Oblast. Her brothers remained in western Ukraine. Only her neighbor, her mother's friend, is close by.
Since childhood, the girl has had a profound visual impairment and is almost blind. She reacts to challenges and problems related to her disability in different ways, but she never turns away from them - difficulties motivate her rather than frighten her.

Tamara graduated from the Drahomanov Pedagogical University, where she majored in ophthalmology.
"When working with blind students, my visual impairment is an advantage. I understand from my own experience what skills blind people need in their studies, work or everyday life. By my own example, I can prove that blind people are able to cook, clean, study and work independently, and most importantly, I can show them how to do a particular job," Tamara believes.

While studying at a school for the blind, she noticed how little time was spent on learning the basic skills and abilities needed by the blind. Her parents couldn't help either - they didn't understand how to teach a blind child to do ordinary household chores. Tamara could not accept this.
"That's when I thought, 'Why not try to learn how to prepare blind children for school myself, to help them learn the material?" she recalls.

Almost immediately, Tamara faced the dark side of her profession: finding a permanent job became one of her biggest challenges in life. Dozens of interviews, dozens of rejections, after which she felt more and more insecure. The rejections were, of course, well-intentioned, with "sympathy":
"When I was trying to get a job in a kindergarten, they emphasized to me what a huge responsibility working with children is," Tamara recalls.
"They asked me how I would cope with a lot of paperwork."
"I can fill out the journals electronically."
"No, you can't! We have to do everything by hand!"
"When I was about to give up, I got a small part-time job - now I work as an assistant consultant in an organic cosmetics store.
This motivates me - I realize that I am useful in some way!" the girl notes.

A little later, Tamara got acquainted with the Christian mission "Serving the Blind" and joined the work of the public union "Modern View". Both organizations, in particular, conduct various activities with elements of rehabilitation for people with visual impairments. It is in their projects that Tamara applies her knowledge and experience to the greatest extent and feels most useful.
She participates in the organizational part, showing leadership skills and also conducts cultural events: fun contests, talent shows, concerts, games. The girl takes entertainment seriously: everything has to be thought out and systematized.

When one of the camps offered Tamara to conduct sports lessons with fitballs, she had doubts immediately. Would she find contact with the students? Will she be able to check the technique of the exercises?
As always, there were those who knew for sure why it would not work. "You don't have a degree in sports, you'll have to literally touch the students!" she recalls her friend saying.
But Tamara also heard words of encouragement from experienced trainers who did not let her get discouraged. So before the camp, she watched a bunch of YouTube videos, made a plan, and got to work.
There was only one thing people were unhappy with in her classes: too little time!

It was at one of the sports and rehabilitation camps of the "Modern View" that Tamara was caught up in the full-scale war.
"The camp was held in the Lviv region. On February 23, we were told that the camp was closing. I was terribly shocked because I did not believe in the numerous predictions of an invasion! I had no idea what to do next - I had only a minimum of things with me, some money and a foreign passport. Everything else was left at home in Kyiv," she recalls.
First, Tamara called her brothers, who live in western Ukraine. Their relationship was not going well, but she hoped that the war would change everything.
"I said I was not far away and would like to come to them for a while. But they refused me. They said it was your own fault for getting into this mess - you had no reason to go," Tamara recalls. But that was only the first blow!

Finally, she decided to go to her friend's house in Kamianets-Podilskyi. There, she was met with the following terrible news: her friends were under occupation and she had lost contact with them.

It was relatively safe and quiet in Kamianka, but for Tamara, her three weeks in the city were terrifying, full of anxiety and fear. The hardest part was that she could not change anything. Only prayers and sincere faith in the best helped her cope.
"I just wanted to go home, I felt depressed! I was afraid that I might lose my friends. My friend and godson remained in Kyiv, and they became closer to me than many relatives. I really wanted to be with them! Just to make sure they were okay. I realize that I would have risked my life by going to Kyiv, but the only thing that stopped me was that in the first weeks of the invasion, there were no trains running to Kyiv," she says.

When Tamara returned to Kyiv, she felt much calmer. Yes, there are few pleasant things about traveling and arriving, but the main thing is that her family and friends are close by!

Tamara also loves to travel. It is easier to meet her not at home, but on the train or at the next rehabilitation session.

In various ways, I asked her what motivates her the most, what keeps her from breaking down and giving up. The answer was not obvious:
"My independence is my biggest motivator. I grew up on my own, with no one helping me to enter and graduate from university or find a part-time job.
I used to compare myself to other people, saying, "They succeeded, and I'm unlikely to succeed." But now I've reconsidered this: if they succeeded, I will succeed, too.

Written by Denys Ivanchenko.

"UNBREAKABLE" - is a series of articles about Ukrainian women and girls that motivate, fascinate and inspire!

This initiative is being implemented within the framework of the project "Promoting the rights of women and girls with disabilities by strengthening their participation and leadership in communities", implemented by the National Assembly of Persons with Disabilities of Ukraine with the support of UN Women Ukraine and the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund.

About the United Nations Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)

The Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) is the only global financing mechanism exclusively dedicated to supporting women’s participation in peace and security processes and humanitarian action. Governed by a diverse group of civil society, government, and UN representatives, WPHF is a multi-partner trust fund that mobilizes urgently needed funding for local, women-led organizations and works alongside women on the front lines to build lasting peace. Since 2016, WPHF has provided funding and strengthened the capacities of over 1,000 local women’s civil society organizations advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda and delivering humanitarian action in 41 crisis-affected countries.

This publication has been prepared with the financial support of the United Nations Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), which does not imply that the views and contents expressed herein are officially endorsed or recognized by the United Nations."

*********

"My independence is my strongest motivator"

When Tamara was 13, her mother went to work in another country. Since then, she has been living independently in a village in the Cherkasy region. Her brothers remained in Western Ukraine. Only a female neighbor, her mother's friend, was nearby.

Since childhood, the girl has had a severe visual impairment, and she is almost blind. She reacts to challenges and problems related to her disability in different ways, but she never turns away from them - difficulties motivate rather than frighten her.

Tamara graduated from Drahomanov National Pedagogical University, where she majored in ophthalmology.

"When working with blind students, my visual impairment is an advantage. I understand from my own experience what skills blind people need in their studies, work, or everyday life. By my own example, I can prove that blind people are able to cook, clean, study, and work independently, and what is most important, I can show them how to do a particular job," Tamara believes.

While she was studying at a school for the blind, the girl noticed how little time was spent on acquiring the basic skills and abilities needed by the blind. Her parents could not help either - they didn't understand how to teach a blind child to do ordinary household chores. Tamara could not accept that.

"That was when I thought: why not try to teach myself how to prepare blind children for school, to help them cope with the learning material?" she recalls.

Almost immediately, Tamara faced the dark side of her profession: finding a permanent job became one of her biggest challenges in life. Dozens of interviews, dozens of rejections, after which she felt less and less confident in herself. The rejections were, of course, with good intentions, with "sympathy":

"When I was trying to get a job in a kindergarten, they would emphasize to me how huge the responsibility of working with children is," Tamara recalls.

"They asked me how I would cope with a lot of paperwork."

"I can fill out the registers in electronic form."

"No-no, that's not allowed! We have to fill in everything by hand only!"

"When I had almost given up, I got a small part-time job - now I am working as an assistant consultant in an organic cosmetics shop.

It motivates me - I realize that I am useful in some way!" the woman says.

A little later, Tamara got acquainted with the Christian Blind Mission and joined the work of the public union "Modern Look." Both organizations, in particular, carry out various activities with elements of rehabilitation for people with visual impairments. It is in their projects that Tamara applies her knowledge and experience to the greatest extent and feels useful.

She contributes to the organizational efforts by showing leadership skills and also conducts events: fun contests, talent shows, concerts, and games. The girl takes entertainment seriously: everything has to be well-planned and systematized.

When, during one of the camps, Tamara was offered to conduct sports lessons with fit balls, she immediately faced doubts. Could she establish contact with the students? Would she be able to supervise how correct the technique of the exercises was?

As always, there was also someone around who knew for sure why it wouldn't work. "You have no sports training, you'll have to be literally fumbling your students!" she remembers one of her friends saying.

Still, Tamara also heard encouraging words from experienced coaches who didn't let her fall into despair. So, before the camp, she watched a bunch of YouTube videos, designed a plan, and got to work.

She had only one complaint about her classes - they were too short!

It was at one of the sports and rehabilitation camps run by Modern Look that Tamara was caught up in the full-scale war.

"The camp was being held in Lviv region. On February 23, we were told that the camp was closing. I was terribly shocked because I did not believe in the numerous predictions of invasion! I had no idea what to do next - I had only a minimum of things with me, some money, and a foreign passport. Everything else was left at home in Kyiv," she recalls.

First, Tamara called her brothers, who live in Western Ukraine. Their relationship had not been very good, but she had a hope that the war would change everything.

"I told them I was quite nearby and I'd like to stay with them for some time. But they refused me. They said it was my own fault that I'd gotten into that trouble - I needn't have traveled around," Tamara adds. And that was only the first blow!

Finally, she decided to go to her friend's house in Kamianets-Podilskyi city. There, she was startled with the terrible news: her friends had gotten under occupation and contact with them had been lost.

It was relatively safe and quiet in Kamianets-Podilskyi, but for Tamara her three weeks in the city were terrifying, full of anxiety and fear. The hardest thing of all was that she could not change anything. Only prayers and sincere faith in the best helped her to get along.

"I was just striving to go home, and I felt depressed! I was afraid I might lose my friends. My female friend and my godson remained in Kyiv, and they became closer to me than many of my relatives. I really wanted to be near them! Just to make sure they were okay. I realize that I would have risked my life by going to Kyiv, but the only thing that stopped me was that in the first weeks of the invasion, there were no trains running to Kyiv," she says.

When Tamara returned to Kyiv, she felt much calmer. Yes, air raids and missile strikes are not pleasant things, but the most important thing is that her family and friends are close to her!

Also, Tamara loves traveling. It is easier to meet her not at home, but on a train or at a rehabilitation field session.

In various ways, I asked her what motivates her the most and what keeps her from breaking down and giving up. Her answer was not what one would typically expect:

"My independence is my biggest motivator. I grew up practically on my own, and no one helped me to be enrolled and graduate from university or find a part-time job. I used to compare myself with other people, saying, "yes, they have succeeded, and I'm unlikely to manage." But now I've reviewed this view: if they succeeded, I will, too."

Prepared by Denys Ivanchenko
 

"THE INVINCIBLE LADY is a series of articles about Ukrainian women and girls that motivate, fascinate, and inspire.

This initiative is part of the project "Empowerment of Women and Girls with Disabilities by Strengthening their Involvement and Leadership in Communities," which is being implemented by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine with the support of UN Women Ukraine and the Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund.

About the UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF)

The UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund is a unified global financial mechanism designed exclusively to support the participation of women in peace and security building and humanitarian responses. Governed by a range of civil society, governments, and UN actors, WPHF is a multi-partner trust fund that mobilizes urgently needed funding for local women-led organizations and works together with women on the frontlines to build lasting peace. WPHF has provided funding and supported capacity building for more than 500 local civil society organizations working with the Women, Peace, and Security agenda and implementing humanitarian activities in 28 crisis-affected countries.

This publication has been prepared with the financial support of the United Nations Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF), but the views and contents expressed herein do not necessarily represent the official endorsement or recognition of the United Nations.