«Social adaptation can be successful when a person has access to comprehensive support and actively participates in solving social issues»
Valentyna Kovardinova and her son moved four times over the past year before they could find safe housing. Due to Russian shelling, the family had to leave Kharkiv for the Poltava region. There, they changed their address twice more. Then there was Poltava, and after that, another search for a home because a Shahed exploded near the house.
This year in April, the Kovardinovs settled in a dormitory in Vyshnivets, in the Ternopil region. The woman admits she wanted to stay in the village because of the dreamed-of peace and quiet. However, the lack of work and the need to enroll her child in a kindergarten forced them to look for options again.
«The only money we had was the IDP allowance for myself and my son. You can’t really thrive on that,” states Ms. Valentyna.
It was in Vyshnivets that the woman met the Rokada team. Social workers provided humanitarian aid, while psychologists offered mental health support.
“The girls from the Rokada advised me on participating in a project through which I can get free housing rent for six months without paying for utilities. The conditions are social adaptation in the community and finding a job. And I, of course, agreed,” continues Valentyna Kovardinova.
Thus, within a few months, the mother and son settled in a one-bedroom apartment in Ternopil. Ms. Valentyna got a job as a logistician at Nova Poshta, and her son started going to kindergarten.
“A wonderful apartment in a nearly new building with everything necessary. There is a washing machine. I never thought there would be people who would help people like me,” she admits.
Maryana Radkovska, a senior social specialist at the Rokada regional office, says that Ms. Valentyna’s story is a prime example of the successful and rapid adaptation of an internally displaced person within the community.
“The family settled in rented housing under the program of UNHCR Ukraine – the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine, and this became the first step to stability. Everything else Ms. Valentyna achieved on her own and in a relatively short period of time, which proves her desire to settle in a new place. Our role consisted of support and consultations,” Maryana Radkovska explains and adds that in the case of the Kovardinovs, the social adaptation program demonstrated the possibilities of cooperation between the foundation and the person, when each of the parties is interested in achieving a result. “This is an indicator that social adaptation can be successful when a person has access to comprehensive support and at the same time actively participates in solving social issues.”
The project for the social adaptation of internally displaced Ukrainians is implemented with the financial support of UNHCR Ukraine – the UN Refugee Agency in Ukraine.
