In Ivano-Frankivsk, the League of Strong, a public association, has launched training sessions for young people with disabilities from among residents and newcomers as part of the Empower Ukraine project. The main goal is to unite young Ukrainians and inspire them to take more active steps in their communities.
Journalists from the local media “Reporter” were present at the meeting. Read on to find out about the participants’ impressions and future plans.
The first meeting was devoted to a frank discussion on the topic “Why are communities important and how to build dialogue with stakeholders?” Through dialogue, the event organizers seek to create a friendly environment, a team, or even a new organization that could eventually strengthen young people’s ability to defend their interests.
Trainer Svitlana Tarahkalo, who moderated the event, says that it is important not to teach, but to encourage participants to find answers and solutions on their own:
“A community is like a tool. We unite around something, an idea or a problem that we want to solve or influence. This can be interaction with local authorities or between different communities. In fact, it is more about communication, how issues can be resolved through appeals or joint projects.”
Nadia wants to live a full life
24-year-old Nadia, who joined the event with her mother Maria, wants to become an active part of the community. She says she dreams of becoming a blogger to inspire others not to give up, and she also wants to find a job and be more independent. The girl has already completed training courses and received a certificate in programming. All that remains is to find a job where her skills are needed.
Nadia spends a lot of time on social media, where she chats with people, but live conversation is even more important to her.
“I have a lot of friends. I love to communicate. My best friend lives in Kolomyia. She is a little older than I am. Today I sent her a gift because I can’t visit her myself. She should receive it tomorrow,” says the girl.
Nadia and her mother settled in Ivano-Frankivsk two years ago. Before that, they lived in the village of Kosmach in the Bohorodchany district. According to Maria, when her daughter was attending school, there were both adults and children around. The teacher created an environment where young people felt comfortable together. But when school ended, everyone went their separate ways, and Nadia was left alone.
“Only my husband and I were at home with her. We have to walk a kilometer and a half to the bus stop. Nadia wants to live, so we moved. Now she can only move around in a wheelchair, but we can’t just sit at home. We go everywhere, whether rehabilitation is paid or free, so that she can live,” Maria shares.
She adds that such meetings help them because they give them the opportunity to meet other people, discuss pressing issues, and get advice or support. Incidentally, these are not the first meetings of the League of the Strong that Maria and Nadia have attended. Previously, they were also active participants in the project “6 Conversations About Resilience.” This is a series of meetings that the public association organized on the principle of self-help groups.
Challenges, needs, and who supports young people with disabilities
Victoria’s son has a rare orphan disease. The boy is 14 years old and stayed at home with his teacher, while his mother came to the event to find a space where her son could socialize and meet young people who could become his friends.
“He is in a wheelchair. I tried to send him to clubs, such as English language classes. Unfortunately, our education system is structured in such a way that all children attend. Therefore, he could not participate equally with others in learning and became very upset and cried. None of the teachers wanted to adapt. We got burned several times,” says the woman.
For her and her son, as for most of the participants in the meeting, a safe space is precisely those public organizations that support people with disabilities and organize events for them.
However, some organizations are still quite closed, with their own established communities, and not everyone can join them. Sofia shared her experience. She is from the Donetsk region, the city of Pokrovsk. She is studying to be a speech therapist in Ivano-Frankivsk. She is currently interested in learning sign language. Sofia wanted to help an organization that works with people with hearing impairments, but she was rejected. This negative experience gave rise to prejudice and fear of being rejected again.
However, the most difficult people for the community to interact with, even though they regularly receive requests, are local government officials.
“For example, in our city and region, the resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, according to which a person with a disability should be provided with diapers and catheters free of charge, is not in effect. We are told that there is simply no such thing. You have a pension—buy them yourself,” says Victoria.
The population of the region has changed significantly since the start of the full-scale war. In particular, the number of people with disabilities has increased among both internally displaced persons and local residents. The community is constantly growing, and with it the need for communities to implement changes that will affect all population groups, including people with disabilities, especially young people. The League of the Strong plans to help participants learn how to initiate and implement these changes during upcoming meetings and events.
This material was created with the financial support of the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), CBM, and the European Disability Forum. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors and cannot in any way be considered the official opinion of the financial partner and the European Disability Forum.