Iryna Kolokolova, the organizational manager of the Women’s Power of Ukraine CSO, grew up in a military family. Both of Iryna’s parents served in Afghanistan, so she knows firsthand what it’s like when your parents are at war: “This topic is very close to me, that’s why I work in this field. I understand that I cannot change everything and help all the military families, but I can make my contribution. I really want these families to have good relations and be respected. Not only in words but in real actions.”
Women’s Power of Ukraine has been dedicated to this cause for 10 years. However, before Russia’s invasion, the organization primarily focused on research and education to build a support system for such families. After the outbreak of the full-scale war, at the request of the General Staff, it set up a hotline that evolved into the Psychosocial Support Service for Military Families, which includes support groups and online crisis counseling.
Due to the invasion, the working hours changed, and the number of team members increased significantly. Now, including volunteers, more than 40 people are working remotely across the country and abroad. Consequently, the support service is available everywhere — for those in small villages or towns without access to such services, and for women outside Ukraine.
Meetings That Change Lives
Iryna Kolokolova, originally from Kharkiv, was forced to move to the capital with her seven pets after the outbreak of the full-scale war. She shares that the bombing and constant stress affected both her psycho-emotional state and her ability to work, but she never missed a single deadline. However, she admits that when the team wrote an application for the Phoenix project, they were at their wits’ end. This institutional support program for CSOs is implemented by East Europe Foundation with funding from the European Union.
Receiving the grant and starting the training felt like a second wind for Iryna: “We’ve been around for 10 years, but there are meetings that change lives. The Phoenix project was such a meeting. Thanks to it, we have put our internal processes in order, so our work is now easier, better, and clearer,” she says. The project enabled the CSO to develop a strategy, operational plan, and internal management policies, streamline its knowledge base, and create guidelines and a training program for running support groups for wives and mothers of defenders.
For the first time, the team began creating detailed project descriptors. “This helps the heads of different departments understand their tasks, better plan the stages of implementation, set realistic deadlines, and share responsibility,» comments Mariana Kalanzhova, communications specialist at the CSO. One of the valuable achievements is that after the training, the number of new readers on the organization’s website more than doubled compared to the first half of 2023: “This is an important indicator for us because the materials created by our specialists are designed to help military family members overcome the various challenges they face. After all the updates, we are now easier to find in a search engine, which means that people can get help on the phone line, in an online chat, register for support groups, or for individual counseling faster.”
What the Heart Desires
The Women’s Power of Ukraine team is dedicated to supporting the resilience and psychological well-being of the country’s defenders and their families by fostering partnerships between military families, the army, and communities.
For Iryna, the Phoenix project has been both an inspiration and a remedy for burnout. She highlights that live communication with colleagues from other organizations, and the opportunity to observe how they react to different circumstances and solve issues, has been extremely valuable. “This program is about both professional growth and emotional impressions from live interaction. It is an opportunity to do what my heart desires better and easier. It may sound pretentious, but it’s true,” she smiles.
The original article on EUPROSTIR