Maryna is 22 years old. Every day, she attends the day care center run by the Dream Workshop NGO. There, young people with mental disorders learn to be independent: they develop skills to interact with others, perform household tasks, and engage in creativity. Most importantly, they are given the right to a decent life.
Since childhood, Maryna’s life has been spent moving between institutions. After reaching the age of majority, she began living in a psychiatric hospital in Kharkiv. She ended up in a similar institution after arriving in Lviv, where she and other hospital residents were evacuated at the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Later, she met the staff of the day care center run by the Dream Workshop NGO. The work of the center is carried out as part of the “Unite and Help in Time of War” project, implemented by the League of the Strong with the support of the European Disability Forum and the Christian Blind Mission. Here, Maryna continues to attend classes in handicrafts, music and art therapy, and has learned to cook and clean.
“I like everything here. I like all the assistants. I am friends with everyone,” Maryna says with a smile.
The girl has a large family – her mother and six brothers and sisters, who also live in institutions. For a long time, Maryna was afraid to trust people and felt uncomfortable in the new community. But a calm environment that accepts and respects everyone has helped her recover.
At the center, students have a clear daily schedule, a list of responsibilities, and their own rules. According to the counselors, this predictability gives them a sense of security.
“In the afternoon, we have free time. I will play a game, a farm game. I go home at four o’clock,” she says.
Maryna loves to be creative: she sews, draws, and creates jewelry and accessories that she often gives to her friends. She says she learned to sew before she came to the workshop. But this is the first time she has tried to make things on a sewing machine. Students at the center also showcase their own designs at fairs to raise funds to support their activities. “I haven’t been [to a fair] yet, but I want to go,” she says.
Thanks to her acquaintance with the Center, Maryna was able to find a new home in a sheltered housing facility run by the organization. She lives there with her friend Anzhelika. The girls enjoy spending time together, doing puzzles and listening to music.
With the support of their caregivers, they have been able to go out on their own for the first time, celebrate their birthdays with friends, and visit a beauty salon.
The Dream Workshop NGO has been working in Lviv for over 9 years. As part of the project “Unite and Help in Time of War”, the organization supports 11 people as part of the Day Care Center in Lviv Oblast. The project is implemented thanks to a grant from the League of the Strong public trade union. The views expressed in this material are those of the Dream Workshop and in no way reflect the official opinion of the financial partners.