Unbreakable is a series of motivational articles. Daria Sassa, public activist "Helping people is our mission" / Daria Sassa, public activist: "Helping people is our mission"

We react to difficulties and adversity in different ways: we overcome them, complain about them, or avoid them.

Daria Sassa, coordinator of the Slobozhanshchyna Initiative, a public organization for the visually impaired, is on a different path: every challenge in her life motivates her to act and create change.

We talk to Daria about why her civic activity pushed her main profession into the background, about the difficult evacuation from shelled Sumy, and about reformatting the work of the NGO since the outbreak of full-scale war.

In 2014, fighting broke out in Donbas. Dariia and her husband moved from the city of Kramatorsk, where Anatolii had worked for 30 years, to his homeland, a village in the Sumy region. Daria is totally blind, Anatolii has a small amount of vision. They had no chance of finding a job in the village, so the couple decided to settle in the city of Sumy.

For two visually impaired people, renting an apartment in Ukraine is not an easy task. And it's not just the price - owners often refuse to rent on the grounds of disability. However, Daria and her husband managed to rent an apartment from a friend for a small fee and stay in the city.

"I am a teacher of Ukrainian language and literature by profession. For a long time, I was engaged in tutoring: I prepared students for the external independent evaluation and taught Ukrainian to foreigners," says Daria.

She had a client base and could continue to do what she loved. However, while living in Sumy, she and her husband discovered that the urban environment was not accessible to people with visual impairments. As of 2015, this city was the only regional center in Ukraine that did not have a single traffic light with an audible warning. Not to mention tactile tiles at bus stops and pedestrian crossings.

But it wasn't even that that struck the couple the most - the blind people they met were mostly unable to use computers and modern smartphones. That's why Daria and Anatolii decided to create a public organization that would address the problems of visually impaired people in Sumy.

They met a young lawyer who was ready to implement changes in the city, but had no team and did not know how to implement them. That's how the Slobozhanshchyna Initiatives NGO was formed and started operating in 2015.

"At first, we had some doubts whether we needed such an organization. But gradually we realized that people really need information and humanitarian support. I really like helping people, which is probably why I am engaged in this activity. My husband and I often say that helping people is our vocation," says Daria.

Slobozhanshchyna Initiatives has never lacked ideas and areas of work. However, not everything worked out right away. There were misunderstandings with local authorities.

"Sometimes it is difficult to reach specific officials. I had to break stereotypes, explain that a blind person is not helpless and can be useful, and that it is inaccessible infrastructure that limits such people.

Therefore, in partnership with the Bureau of Legal Communications, we conducted "lessons of tolerance" for the patrol police and local governments," says Daria.

Gradually, communication was established and the initiatives of the NGOs were perceived with greater understanding. In Sumy, they started installing sounded traffic lights and tactile tiles.

They also managed to implement a great solution in the area of public transportation accessibility. Anatolii and Daria initiated the creation of the Sumy GPS Inclusive mobile application. The app notifies users when trolleybuses and minibuses arrive at a particular public transport stop and can also warn them when a stop they select is approaching.

Unlike its counterparts, the app is fully accessible to the blind, although people without visual impairments can use it as well.

The Sasses also have a passion that they share with everyone. Anatoliy has collected perhaps the largest collection of audiobooks in Ukraine - more than 11,500 units!

The Sasses don't plan to stop there: Anatolii is digitizing old tapes, and Daria has decided to learn the profession of librarian so that she can help readers find the right book.

Their organization has a recording studio that records modern books, mostly by Sumy authors. This way, blind readers get access to new books that are often impossible to buy even in electronic form.

The abundant fruits of Slobozhanshchyna Initiatives' activities also attract the attention of local journalists. Thanks to the media, the NGO manages to attract new partners to cooperate, achieving much greater results.

"I never thought that PR was so important," Daria is surprised.

The residents of Sumy were among the first to feel the impact of the full-scale invasion. The city was under siege. Daria recalls feeling extremely confused.

"Columns of tanks even drove past our house. There was no way to leave, and it was very scary to stay in the shelled and bombed city!

When the evacuation corridors were finally announced, Anatoliy and I helped to ensure that people with disabilities were given a separate bus. The evacuation was extremely poorly organized. No one met us in Poltava, so we, the blind and people in wheelchairs, had to spend the night at the train station. We barely managed to get people on the evacuation train. Seats were allocated for everyone except people with disabilities.

We had to involve the Government Commissioner for the Rights of People with Disabilities, and it was only thanks to publicity that we finally got people to the west of Ukraine," the woman recalls.

Daria returned to Sumy six months later. She recuperated at her parents' place in her native Bukovyna. "I plunged into work. It brought me out of my depression. When I came back, I was more calm about the shelling than in the early days. I became optimistic and realized that we had to survive this," says Daria.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the activities of Slobozhanshchyna Initiatives have changed somewhat. People with other nosologies began to turn to the NGO.

"We refer them to specialists from our partners who provide legal and psychological support. We also provide humanitarian aid.

For some reason, in Sumy, only visually impaired people received no help for a long time. Anatoliy almost had to quarrel with the local authorities. It was only after a tough conversation that help finally started to arrive," says Daria.

Ms. Sassa pays a lot of attention to her own development and self-education: she attends courses, trainings, webinars, and seminars, constantly acquiring new knowledge and competencies. I asked her what is the most important thing to keep in mind to achieve the expected results?

"You can achieve a lot if you work hard in a certain direction and don't give up. It is important to understand that this work is not a short distance, but a marathon," says Daria.

Author Denis Ivanchenko

"Unbreakable" is a series of articles about Ukrainian women and girls that motivate, delight 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."".

**********

Daria Sassa, public activist: "Helping people is our mission"

We respond to difficulties and hardships in different ways: we overcome them, complain about them, or avoid them.

Daria Sassa, the coordinator of the "Slobozhanshchyna's Initiative," a public organization for people with visual impairments, takes a different path: every challenge in her life motivates her to act and create change.

We talk to Daria about the reasons why her public activity pushed her main profession into the background, about the difficult evacuation from Sumy being shelled, and about reformatting the work of the public organization since the outbreak of full-scale war.

In 2014, hostilities broke out in Donbas. Daria and her husband moved from Kramatorsk, where Anatoliy had worked for 30 years, to his homeland, a village in Sumy region. Daria is totally blind, and Anatoliy has a small amount of residual vision. They had no chance of finding a job in the village, so the couple decided to settle in Sumy

For two people with visual impairments, renting an apartment in Ukraine is not an easy task. And it is not just a matter of price - owners often refuse to rent on the grounds of disability. However, Daria and her husband managed to rent an apartment from a friend for a reasonable fee and stay in the city.

"I am a teacher of the Ukrainian language and literature by profession. For a long time, I have been involved in tutoring: I prepared students for the external independent assessment and taught Ukrainian to foreigners," says Daria.

She had a client base and could continue to do what she loved. But while living in Sumy, she and her husband discovered that the urban environment was not accessible to people with visual impairments. As of 2015, this city was the only regional center in Ukraine that did not have a single traffic light with audible notifications. Not to mention tactile tiles at public transport stops and pedestrian crossings.

But it wasn't even this that struck the couple the most - the blind people they would meet mostly didn't know how to use a computer and modern smartphones. Therefore, Daria and Anatoliy decided to create a public organization to address the problems of people with visual impairments in Sumy. They met a young lawyer who was ready to implement changes in the city, but who did not have a team and did not know how to implement them. That was how the public organization "Slobozhanshchyna's Initiatives" was established and started operating in 2015.

"At the beginning, we had some doubts whether such an organization was really needed. But gradually we realized that people are really in need of information and humanitarian support. I like to help people very much, which is probably why I am involved in this activity. My husband and I often say that helping people is our calling," says Daria.

The Slobozhanshchyna's Initiatives NGO has never been short of ideas and areas of work to do. However, not everything was successful right away. Misunderstandings with local authorities occurred.

"Sometimes it is difficult to reach specific officials. We had to break stereotypes, explain that a blind person is not helpless and can be useful, and that it is inaccessible infrastructure that sets limits for such people.

That is why, in partnership with the Bureau of Legal Communications, we conducted "tolerance lessons" for patrol police and local self-government bodies," recalls Daria.

Gradually, communication was established, and the initiatives of their public organization were perceived with more understanding. Sumy city started installing audible traffic lights and laying tactile tiles on the ground.

They also managed to introduce a great solution in the area of public transportation accessibility. Anatoliy and Daria initiated the creation of the "Sumy GPS Inclusive" mobile application. In particular, it notifies about the arrival of trolleybuses and minibuses at a specific public transport stop and can also notify about approaching the stop that the user indicates.

Unlike similar tools, this app is fully accessible to the blind, although it can be used by people without visual impairments, too.

Besides that, the Sasses couple have a passion that they willingly share with everyone. Anatoliy has collected perhaps the largest collection of audiobooks in Ukraine - more than 11,500 titles!

The Sasses don't even think about stopping here: Anatoliy is digitizing old audio tape reels, and Daria has decided to master the profession of librarian in order to help readers find the right book better.

Their organization has a recording studio where contemporary books, mostly by Sumy authors, are audio recorded. This is how blind readers get access to new books that are often impossible to buy even in electronic format.

The generous fruits of the "Slobozhanshchyna's Initiatives" activities attract the attention of local journalists as well. Thanks to the media presence, the public organization manages to attract new partners to cooperate, achieving much greater results.

"I have never thought that PR is so important," Daria says in surprise.

The residents of Sumy were among the first to feel the blow of the full-scale invasion. The city was under siege.

Daria recalls feeling extremely distraught.

"Columns of tanks were moving even past our house. There was no way to leave, and it was very scary to stay in the shelled and bombed city!

When the evacuation corridors were finally announced, Anatoliy and I helped to make sure that people with disabilities were allocated a separate bus. The evacuation was organized extremely badly. No one met us in Poltava, so we, the blind and people in wheelchairs, had to spend the whole night at the train station. We barely managed to get people on the evacuation train. Seats had been distributed for everyone except people with disabilities.

We had to appeal to the government commissioner for the rights of people with disabilities, and it was only thanks to publicity that we finally got people to the west of Ukraine," she recalls.

Daria returned to Sumy six months later. She recovered at her parents' home in her native Bukovyna region. "I plunged into work. It led me out of my depression. When I came back, I was calmer about the shelling than in the early days. I became optimistic and realized that we need to survive this," says Daria.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the activities of Slobozhanshchyna's Initiatives have changed to some extent. People with other types of disabilities have started to come to this public organization.

"We offer them referrals to specialists from among our partners who provide legal and psychological support. We also provide humanitarian aid. For some reason, in Sumy, only people with visual impairments had received no help for a long time. Anatoliy almost had to quarrel with the local authorities. Only after a tough conversation did the aid finally start to arrive," explains Daria.

Mrs. Sassa pays a lot of attention to her own development and self-education: she attends courses, trainings, webinars, and seminars, constantly acquiring new knowledge and competencies. I asked her what is the most important thing to keep in mind if you want to achieve the expected results?

"You can achieve a lot if you work persistently in a certain direction and don't give up. It is important to understand that this work is not a short distance, but a marathon," believes Daria.

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.