Four residents of Ivano-Frankivsk with disabilities became the heroes of the information campaign “Time to step into the light” by “The League of the Strong” public union. Yulia Yarmakova, Oleksandra Boryshchak, Yulia Mozgova, and Zlata Magomedova, shared their stories.
The main advice from the heroes of the campaign is not to perceive disability as a sentence, to keep going, to study, not to be afraid, to communicate and not to hide from the world.
Yulia Yarmakova has a hearing impairment. The girl lost her hearing in childhood and stopped speaking at the age of 3.5. Hearing aids did not help. Her mother, Iryna Horodchuk, agreed to the surgery, during which an implant was installed.
“It was very difficult at the kindergarten from the very beginning, because she lost her hearing, and accordingly, children become antisocial, they are better off alone. And then, after the implantation, there were a lot of lessons with a speech therapist and a psychologist – from rhythm to music. Later, more and more she made contact, started talking like all ordinary children,” says Iryna Gorodchuk, Yulia’s mother.
She emphasizes that these changes are the result of hard work – repeating, talking, explaining.
Oleksandra Boryshchak lost the ability to walk without assistive technology due to an illness that began to progress at the age of 12. However, she got married at 17 and became a mother of a son at 19. Today, Oleksandra is a grandmother of a 4-year-old grandson. The woman admits that it was hard to get used to the disease.
“It took me a long time to get used to the fact that my health was getting worse, that I would have to use a wheelchair. I had tantrums, cried. But then I realized that I had to accept it. I accepted it… My son helped me, he accepted me as I was, he was not ashamed of me. He used to come to me and drive me around, and he said, ‘You’re the best one in my family anyway,'” says Oleksandra Boryshchak.
Yulia Mozgova also uses a wheelchair to get around. She works with a rehabilitation therapist and sincerely believes that she will be able to walk again.
“I also wanted to lock myself away, I also did not know what to do, where to go. I know I can’t get up and go anywhere. You can’t get upset, but sometimes you really want to give up, and that’s it. Hope helps me, I keep going because of hope. Hope that I will be able to walk and see my daughter,” says Yulia Mozgova.
Zlata Magomedova and her mother evacuated from Donetsk region. The girl’s biggest dream is for the war to end and for everyone to go home.
“Our first teacher was very kind, she explained that we had such a girl, that anyone could visit her. Then 5 or 6 people would come and play. My classmates never forgot that Zlata was in the class. On all holidays, children came to play,” says Zlata’s mother Natalia Magomedova.
As a reminder, “The League of the Strong” public union launched “Time to step into the light” information campaign based on the results of the first national sociological survey on the perception of people with disabilities in Ukraine. The survey showed that 50% of Ukrainians rarely or almost never see people with disabilities in public places. The campaign’s goal is to help people with disabilities accept themselves, overcome internal barriers, and speak up for their needs and rights.
The heroes of the campaign are people with disabilities from Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Cherkasy. In each of the cities, photo shoots based on the play of light and shadows were organized for the project’s heroes. The photo exhibitions were displayed at railway stations and shopping centers in Ivano-Frankivsk, Ternopil, and Cherkasy. In addition to the photo shoots, the campaign’s heroes took part in the filming of video stories about them. The videos are posted on the YouTube channel of the League of the Strong.
The photo shoots of the “Time to step into the light” information campaign were held as part of the Empower Ukraine project with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), CBM, and the European Forum for Persons with Disabilities. The project aims to improve living conditions for people with disabilities and other vulnerable groups in Ternopil, Cherkasy, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions.
The video was created as part of the project by the Center of Expertise in the field of the rights of people with disabilities. The Center operates thanks to a grant from the Support to Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Ukraine Program, funded by the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The program is implemented by Crown Agents in partnership with International Alert and in cooperation with Crown Agents in Ukraine.
The views expressed during the campaign are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the funding partners.