Need support? VILNA spaces for women and girls are waiting for you
Every week, from Wednesday to Sunday, the VILNA women- and girl-friendly space comes alive. It hosts support groups, consultations with psychologists, trainings, art therapy workshops, career sessions, language clubs, yoga and fitness classes. Women come here for what is often most lacking today – a sense of safety, support and the confidence that they will be heard and not judged. Such spaces, supported by Rokada, operate in Kyiv, Irpin, Kharkiv, Shostka, Chernihiv and Sumy.
Nataliia Serdiuk, coordinator of VILNA in Kharkiv and Shostka, explains that each space plans its activities according to the needs of its visitors.
“This week, for example, women need more attention to their mental health, so we are focusing on psychological activities. These may be art therapy sessions, group sessions to relieve anxiety and so on. Next week the needs may change, and we will prepare more career consultations or language classes. Our teams always keep a finger on the pulse of what women need right now,” says Nataliia Serdiuk.
VILNA is a women- and girl-friendly space where everyone can receive comprehensive psychosocial support free of charge. Psychologists, social workers, managers and invited trainers work with the women. Together they help restore inner resources, find new opportunities for development and regain a sense of stability.
Kateryna Kyrylova, who coordinates the VILNA spaces in Kyiv, Irpin, Sumy and Chernihiv, adds that women and girls often come to rebuild their social lives.
“Today, thousands of Ukrainian women have had to leave their home communities. Not everyone manages to find friends in a new place, for various reasons. Our spaces support not only emotional recovery and a career start, but also the emergence of a strong circle of mutual support and shared interests,” she says.
The first VILNA space opened four years ago. Its experience of supporting women showed how much such spaces are needed. Today, with Rokada’s support, the project is implemented in four regions. Since last year alone, 4,553 women and girls have joined VILNA.
Anna Molochko, social worker at the space in Chernihiv, says the best assessment of their work is when women and girls recommend VILNA to their friends.
“More and more people are coming to us. Women and girls are taking a more active part in activities and recommending the space to each other. Yes, emotional challenges are not decreasing either, but for us, women’s desire to be part of VILNA means trust above all,” the social worker notes.
“What inspires me most in my work is the change in women. You can see it in their eyes. Their gaze becomes more confident. Yes, it is not a one-day process. But seeing a woman go from finding it hard to trust anyone to becoming a source of support for others herself is probably the most valuable part of the work,” adds Olena Chornomorets, Rokada psychologist in Irpin.
To reach as many Ukrainian women as possible with care and support, Rokada launched a mobile VILNA space. It currently operates in Kharkiv region. The Foundation’s team holds activities in libraries, dormitories, shelters for internally displaced people and other locations. The mobile format makes psychological, social and information support accessible even in the most remote communities.
The VILNA women- and girl-friendly space is implemented by UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund in Ukraine, with financial support from the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Centre (KSrelief), Irish Aid, the Government of Sweden and the Government of Denmark, in cooperation with the Rokada Charitable Foundation.
UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is the leading UN agency focusing on gender equality, reproductive health and youth capacity building. Together with partners, UNFPA works in 150 countries and territories worldwide, and in Ukraine since 1997.
More information about UNFPA and its work in Ukraine: https://ukraine.unfpa.org/en
