They say that there are no irreplaceable people. But for parents who have lost their child, these words will never be true.
The terrible phrase «parents of a fallen soldier» has returned to Ukrainian reality. These are mothers and fathers for whom life is divided into «Before» and «After», and a new day often becomes a test that requires strength that seems to be gone.
Our activist turned to the Organization of Veterans of Ukraine in the Industrial District of Kharkiv. She told us about her friend, the mother of a fallen serviceman, who needed psychological support. While the woman was busy with paperwork and receiving her son's award, she was holding on. But when all the duties were completed and she was left with only an order instead of a living embrace, the moment came when the pain became unbearable and reality became empty and fragile.
The organization did not stand aside: Lidiia was invited to group counseling meetings with a psychologist as part of the project «Humanitarian Response and Recovery: Strengthening the Leadership of Organizations of Women with Disabilities» implemented by the National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine with technical support from UN Women in Ukraine and funding from the UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). Psychological support helped her to carefully comprehend the loss she had experienced, learn to recognize the impact of trauma, and understand the nature of stress and emotional exhaustion.
Such meetings help women to restore their inner balance, strengthen their own resources, take care of their emotional state, and find support in themselves and their values again.
It was thanks to this program that Lidia began to come back to life. She is learning to allow herself to feel, to experience complex emotions, to not be ashamed to ask for help and to accept support. Gradually, the woman feels that she can breathe again, even if it is still through tears.
Her experience reminds us that going to a psychologist is not a manifestation of weakness, but a way of taking care of oneself, a necessary step towards recovery from loss.
Support can change lives. There are people living next to us who carry the silent burden of grief every day. And each of us can help - with a sincere word, a sensitive presence, or just a willingness to listen. Sometimes this becomes the small spark that gives a person the opportunity to take a step towards life.
The trainings were conducted by the Organization of Veterans of Ukraine of the Industrial District of Kharkiv within the framework of the project «Humanitarian Response and Recovery: Strengthening the Leadership of Organizations of Women with Disabilities», implemented by the NGO National Assembly of People with Disabilities of Ukraine (NAIA) with the technical support of UN Women Ukraine and funded by the UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF).
However, this does not imply that the views and content expressed during the training are officially endorsed or recognized by the United Nations.
The UN Women's Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) is a flexible and operational funding instrument that supports quality interventions to enhance the capacity of local women to prevent conflicts, respond to crises and emergencies, and harness key peacebuilding opportunities.
