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In February 2020 Kherson Women Union announced the start of a new social motivating project for women “From Me to You”. A lot of Kherson folks (both men and women) got interested in the project, and there have been held first meetings with women and speakers; new ideas appeared and new options for their fulfillment since the first announcement. Well, what about and for whom is this project? And how can you be of help to it? Read on in our material.

The idea of the project “From Me to You” appeared in 2019 during the actively organized volunteer help to the charges of the Social Center for Mother and Child. You can find more details on this cooperation between KWU and the Center at our material https://union-women.org/article/?id=274

For some time we had doubts on how successfully and effectively this project could be fulfilled on the local level (it’s totally a volunteer project, not grant!) while working with a changing group of women? As the team of experts from the Center provides help and support to young mothers and their children, pregnant women in difficult straits: either without finances, or home to live or support from their relatives on a daily basis. As soon as these straits change – Mothers leave the center. Only in 2019 40 women received support and help in the Center (with normal completeness of 10 people). And, for instance, only one of the heroine of June 2019 photo session has still been staying at the Center.

In January we conducted survey among the residents of the Center and since then each Kherson woman that comes to the Center and would like to be a participant of our project, fills out the questionnaire. What questions have we asked and what answers have received? Of course, about their interests and keenness in master-classes, necessities in experts’ advice, skills that they would like to master and how they plan to fulfill them in future.

The profiles’ analyses have shown and even made our day: most of all girls and women wanted to learn how to find a job and write a CV, to learn effective communication with people, culture of resistance and even first aid treatment. Women are also interested in beauty and health issues, self and child care, parents’ responsibilities and children rights, ego boost. The Center employees have shared their own observations: girls are mostly motivated by women who had managed to overpass difficult straits and have own success story.

Mainly these answers inspired us to take part in the project of speakers – psychologists and teachers, lawyers and doctors, beauty experts and photographers, and women, who are ready to share their victory stories over these infamous “difficult straits”.

After that there was the first visit together with the specialist – the first to get acquainted with the Center’s residents at the end of February was the practicing family and children psychologist Oksana Ryzhenko, who is known to our readers with her constant participation in the projects of social and corporate coaching for children (2017 – 2019).

“For me it was a lesson that aroused a lot of excitement and reflection. Each participant is a book with the plot that is hard to imagine. Each of them is treasured, with her pros and cons, her joys and heartaches, talents and strengths. It will take time to comprehend each story, non-standard view and belief in themselves, that they have strength enough and chance to change themselves, own life, and to benefit from such a complicated past. Each of them dreams of a better tomorrow, own house, family and rest at the sea. I wish for all their wishes to come true and hope that they will find strength and support for their fulfillment! I am grateful to Kherson Women Union for the support and resources that you are sharing!” These were the impressions that Oksana shared on social media.

After that there was held a meeting with Kherson men and women, who expressed their wishes to join the project as experts, motivational speakers, assistants (almost 30 people expressed their wishes to do that. Although, not everyone could come, but everyone was informed the results of our discussion and new propositions).

Today we are going to have another meeting inside the walls of the Center. In the organic tandem of the Union’s favorite numerologist Natalia Stoliarova and psychologist Liudmyla Koliaka (project of the social coaching “Step by Step” (2017 – 2018) and the Program of Social Coaching of NGO “KWU” (2018 – 2019) there are new discoveries and understanding: for girls, for speakers and for us, the organizers. Not everything is flat and ideal, now we understand that not all girls can be helped in an equal successful and effective way. And it will obligatory be fulfilled in the further implementation of the project. As it is live, not stereotyped – it is for women and about women, about teaming up and common concern, about help that is needed, but not imposed on… And we are personally thankful to everyone for participation, personal involvement and readiness to share their time, resource, knowledge for the sake of help to women, that are the charges of KWU.

In the end, the targeted audience of the project “From me to You” are not only residents of the Social Center for Mother and Child, but Kherson women, who need motivation and support to discover self-potential, to overcome difficult straits or just a friendly helping hand of a person who had gone through the same problems and found strength to live on with head held high! That is why the title of the project is so symbolic…

We don’t throw light on all the particulars of the affair – the most interesting is ahead for all the followers of the project “From Me to You”.

We would like to invite speakers and specialists-consultants, women, ready to share their stories, and also partners, who would like to support the development of the project with information or financially, for participation.

If you are interested, please, call us: (+38) 050-967-22-10, 096-926-61-20 or send e-mail: zhinky.kherson@gmail.com.

See you soon!

Photo: from the open resources and archive of NGO “KWU”