Olga Bobrus, Nia Nickel, Maria Nikitina, Olesia Nosenko, Iaryna Tanchak, and Anna Drohovoz lead civil society organizations that focus on inclusion, accessibility, and support for veterans and families of people with disabilities. In honor of International Women’s Rights Day, we share their stories — about challenges, stereotypes, and the power of civic leadership.
“And over time, you realize: this mountain can be conquered” — Olga
Olga Bobrus is one of the women we’re featuring in the lead-up to March 8. She is the founder and director of the nonprofit organization “Center for a Ray of Hope” and works to develop social services and an accessible environment in her community.
“I moved from the big city of Vinnytsia to a small town and suddenly realized that there were almost no developed social services, infrastructure, or active community life here. For me, it was a challenge. But at the same time, it was a call to action. I couldn’t just stand by and do nothing,” says Olga.
She began traveling to remote villages to work with women with many children and single mothers. Over time, her work expanded to include support for people with disabilities.
“And that’s when I realized that accessibility shouldn’t be treated as a mere formality, but as a matter of dignity.”
The organization has implemented several grant projects with the support of international donors and successfully carried them out in the community. It also conducted an advocacy campaign to create an accessible environment in the Hnivan community in Vinnytsia Oblast in partnership with “The League of the Strong”. This led to the adoption of a local accessibility program.
“For me, this was proof that even in a small town, big changes are possible — especially when you have strong partners.”
She herself had to deal with stereotypes. Sometimes a female leader — and especially a leader with a disability — wasn’t taken seriously. She had to work hard to earn respect and recognition as the head of a nonprofit organization.
“At first, people saw me as ‘too emotional’ rather than as a manager or strategist. But I’m convinced that when you work consistently and deliver results, that’s the best way to overcome any preconceptions.”
Today, their organization is an official provider of social services in the community. It delivers resilience-building services in collaboration with the Ministry of Social Policy, Family, and Unity of Ukraine. The “Ray of Hope Center” also runs several initiatives specifically aimed at supporting women. These include psychological support groups, mutual aid spaces, training sessions incorporating art therapy, and women’s clubs. The team holds meetings with the wives and mothers of military personnel and works with male and female veterans.
“For me, resilience isn’t just about weathering the storm. It’s about learning to dance in the rain. And helping others find the strength within themselves to dance, even when things get tough.”
What inspires Olga most is the very process of overcoming challenges and making steady progress, even when the tasks seem too difficult.
“It’s as if there’s a huge mountain standing before you — daunting and insurmountable. But you start taking it one step at a time. And over time, you realize: this mountain can be conquered. I’m supported by my team, my family, my faith, and the people who entrust their stories to us. And it’s they who remind me every day why we’re doing all this.”
“Our healthcare system was completely unprepared for people with epilepsy,” said Nia
Nia Nickel is the founder of the nonprofit organization “Epiprosvita,” which advocates for the rights of people with epilepsy and supports families raising children with disabilities.
Nia has always been interested in philanthropy and has been volunteering since she was a child. In 2018, she gave birth to a daughter with a very rare genetic disorder. At the time, the diagnosis was not yet known, but the child began having epileptic seizures.
“We ended up in the hospital, and it became clear that our healthcare system at the time was completely unprepared to handle people with epilepsy. It’s still not very prepared now. But back then, it was really tough. They nearly killed my child in the hospital because they prescribed her a bunch of medications that interacted negatively and shouldn’t have been given at the same time,” says Nia.
That’s how she began advocating for the rights of children and people with epilepsy. It became a personal mission for her, as these rights directly affected her own child. Over time, she realized that there are many people with epilepsy, yet their needs are rarely discussed.
Her organization was one of the first in Ukraine to systematically raise the issue of protecting the rights of people with epilepsy and draw attention to it. Over time, the team became a leading advocate in this area. According to her, the vast majority of people with epilepsy in Ukraine have a disability.
She notes that she has not encountered any significant gender stereotypes or injustices in her work, as the community of civic activists in the medical field consists predominantly of women.
“There are a lot of organizations for mothers of children with disabilities. As a result, there’s a group of very active, amazing women who are driving this field forward.”
At the same time, as the mother of a child with a disability, she constantly faced stereotypes. In particular, during her stays in hospitals, she had to hear doctors accuse her of being to blame for her child’s disability — citing her lifestyle, diet, or other far-fetched reasons. In reality, she emphasizes, genetic diseases are not influenced by these factors.
“I lived in the hospital with my child for almost six months. My husband came once a week because he was working to earn money —we needed a lot of it. And everyone would say, ‘My goodness, he’s such a good man for not leaving his family.’ And this is the kind of injustice faced by most women raising children with disabilities.”
She explains that her team recently conducted a study titled “Economic Freedom of Mothers of Children with Disabilities.” Approximately 600 women participated in the study. About 70% of them are married, yet 96% responded that they have no one to share the care of their child with. This means that many women do not actually view their partners as people with whom they can share the responsibility of caregiving.
“And this is such a rigid stereotype that, after the birth of a child with a disability, it effectively disables the mother. Because she’s expected to stay home with the children, raise them, and can’t pursue her own career. Yet for men, life in such situations usually doesn’t change. They go to work, earn money, and so on.”
The organization also runs the “Mamwork” project, which is designed to support mothers of children with disabilities. Its goal is to help women regain their self-confidence, prepare resumes, meet potential employers, and return to work.
“We actually have some really great statistics showing that more than half of mothers return to work after taking time off, earn their own income, and get their lives back on track.”
In addition, the team provides targeted assistance to children with disabilities. It advises families, helps them apply for the necessary services and benefits provided by law, and assists with complex cases to ensure that families receive the support they need — from medical services to care supplies. If certain forms of assistance are not covered by the government, the organization works to raise funds and provide targeted support to families.
Nia also invites mothers of children with disabilities to join the program. All you need to do is contact us via social media or our website.
“That’s why we’d love to see all mothers of children with disabilities. To sign up, simply message us on any of our social media platforms or visit our website.”
“Believe in yourself and seek out allies” — Maria
Maria Nikitina is a representative of the non-governmental organization “Chernivtsi Association ‘Zakhyst’,” which works to protect the rights of people with disabilities and promote inclusivity in Chernivtsi. The organization was founded in 2011 by students at Yuriy Fedkovych Chernivtsi National University as a civic initiative that brought young people together around the idea of protecting the rights and opportunities of people with disabilities.
“Since 2022, we’ve been working on various issues, but the main focus of our organization is building an inclusive, democratic country through community development. We don’t have ‘people with disabilities’ in our name, but the fact that I have a disability and am the director of this nonprofit organization, I think, is a very good indicator that we’re talking about true inclusion — about including everyone, regardless of disability. And in our nonprofit, our team members are people of different ages, genders, with and without disabilities,” says Maria.
In her professional life, she has not encountered gender stereotypes or biases. According to her, she is generally treated as an equal in the workplace, and she has not experienced any discrimination based on her gender identity.
“I encountered this kind of behavior back in 2016, when I was running for local office as a candidate for the city council. At the time, yes, I did feel a certain degree of bias from voters and from my opponents.”
However, the situation is gradually improving. She believes that society is moving toward greater equality, and instances of discrimination are becoming increasingly rare.
She admits that in community work, there are often situations that can be demotivating. Sometimes she even feels like she doesn’t want to do it anymore. However, those moments quickly pass when she has the chance to talk with her team, volunteers, and allies.
“Yesterday we had a wonderful meeting with students from Chernivtsi Bukovyna State Medical University. The students reached out to us asking for support. They want to conduct training sessions for students on accessibility in the medical field. And I was very inspired by the fact that one of the students attended our training two years ago. He was really moved by how we presented the topic.”
“We know we’re strong” — Olesya
Olesya Nosenko is the head of the nonprofit organization “Dream in Action.” Her first thoughts about civic engagement and her first steps in this direction emerged about 18 years ago. According to her, she was largely inspired to pursue this path by her father, who was also a civic activist. She adds that from a young age, she was raised in a family that valued helping others and doing good.
“And when I learned about these opportunities — the nonprofit sector, project management, and strategic planning — I realized that this is a very interesting field where you can do good things and help people in society. Before the war, my like-minded friends and I began planning to establish a nonprofit organization,” Olesya recalls.
Olesya smiles as she recalls one of the projects she launched in Zakarpattia Oblast, inspired by the experience of her Slovak partners. She is referring to a workshop for manufacturing solar collectors, which operated successfully until the outbreak of full-scale war.
“With some materials I had on hand at home, I was able to build my own solar collector. But for some of the parts, I had to go to the store from time to time to buy what I needed. And for some reason, the salespeople — especially the men — always felt compelled to tell me, ‘You’re calling it the wrong thing; there’s no such thing.’ I’d say, ‘Just because you don’t know what it is doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist.’”
What inspires Olesya most to take action and make changes is her team. The nonprofit sector is a challenging field, but it is the support of like-minded people that helps her move forward.
“We know that we are strong, and that, drawing on our strength, we strive — albeit in small steps — to do good in society and bring about change.”
“I’m inspired by our defenders” — Iaryna
Iaryna Tanchak heads the non-governmental organization “Academy of Socio-Economic Initiatives” as well as the Center for Veteran Support and Social Initiatives at Ivan Franko National University of Lviv. In her work, she combines the activities of both institutions, as their goals largely overlap — supporting active-duty military personnel, veterans, their family members, veterans who were held captive, as well as the families of fallen defenders of Ukraine.
Her work with veterans began back in 2016, when the first demobilized soldiers who had served in the ATO-JFO zone began returning to their communities. Even then, it was clear that they needed support to return to civilian life and integrate into the community.
This included assistance with retraining, obtaining an education or advancing one’s professional skills, starting a business, as well as guidance and high-quality psychological support. It was in 2016 that Iaryna’s journey in civic activism truly began, although at that time she was primarily helping military personnel as a volunteer.
“I realized there was a great need for this, and that I’m actually making a real difference. The guys talk about supporting and helping one another, and many of them have started reaching out to me for advice,” says Iaryna.
In 2020, Iaryna realized that in order for her volunteer work to be more systematic, effective, and far-reaching — and for support for veterans to be accessible on a broader scale — she needed to work in the nonprofit sector.
She recalls that when she first started working in the veterans’ sector, there were concerns that the best support should be provided on a “peer-to-peer” basis. The idea was that assistance to veterans could supposedly be provided more effectively by people with combat experience, predominantly men. Therefore, a woman without such experience was initially treated with a certain degree of caution and misunderstanding.
However, over time, through her work with veterans and their families, she became convinced that her efforts were necessary and truly made a difference.
“A few years ago, we also went to a rehabilitation center to work with soldiers who had completely lost their sight and partially lost their hearing. The rehabilitation took place together with their families. The wives saw that young women had come, and they wondered what these women could possibly teach their husbands, who had been through combat and suffered severe injuries. There were quite a few instances where the wives simply didn’t accept us.”
After several days of training and counseling, the veterans’ wives approached them to apologize for their initial skepticism, because after these sessions, their husbands seemed to have found a new lease on life; they began to rethink their role in the community and realized that losing their sight did not mean the end of their lives.
“I am inspired by our defenders. After suffering severe injuries — having lost their hearing and upper limbs — and with no home to return to, they started their own business on their own. They find the strength within themselves to carry on.”
“To remain silent about barriers is to accept them” — Anna
Anna Drohovoz is the founder of the nonprofit organization “Barrier-Free Pryluky,” which works to improve accessibility in the city and foster a culture of respect for people with disabilities. Together with her team, she gives lectures to schoolchildren on accessibility and respectful communication with people with disabilities.
“I’ve been using a wheelchair for almost 12 years now. But for about ten of those years, I lived in a sort of ‘bubble.’ It was a long period of rehabilitation and self-acceptance. First, I had to learn to live under new circumstances, then find a job that would allow me to work and feel needed. At that time, I started drawing, and later I acquired a new profession — SMM specialist,” Anna says.
When she started going into town more often, it became clear that there were barriers almost everywhere. Just to go somewhere, she has to plan her route in advance — whether she’ll be able to drive there, if there’s a ramp, and if the doors will open. Every trip for her turns into a kind of mobility strategy, where she has to take many details into account.
“Once I saw a video about a situation where the residents of an apartment building opposed the installation of a ramp for a veteran who used prosthetic legs. Their argument was that the ramp would ‘spoil the appearance of the courtyard.’ That story really outraged me. That’s when I realized that staying silent about barriers means accepting them.”
That’s how the nonprofit organization “Barrier-Free Pryluky” came to be. Before that, almost no one in the city had systematically raised the issue of accessibility. Anna says she loves Pryluky dearly and wants to live in a comfortable environment, so at some point she realized that if she didn’t take the initiative herself, no one else would.
“I’ve encountered not so much gender stereotypes as prejudices regarding disability. People often don’t expect someone with a disability to be able to work actively, start an organization, or engage in dialogue with government officials or the business community. But in practice, anything is possible if you have the desire to change the environment around you.”
At the end of March, the organization plans to host a public event for local businesses to discuss why accessibility is important for the city and how it can be implemented in practice.