Starting Over: Anastasia’s Story
"I can see in the eyes of the children I work with that they are happy."
- Български
- English
Anastasia is 28 years old and comes from Odesa. She arrived in Bulgaria with her six-year-old daughter, seeking safety and a future away from the war. Today, she works as a social worker with the Bulgarian Red Cross in Varna, supporting other Ukrainian mothers and children.
Through the UNICEF programme she is part of, their group has now grown to include 450 mothers. For many Ukrainian children, integrating into a new society is difficult. “They are a little bit nervous,” Anastasia explains. “That’s why meetings here, workshops and art help them a lot to make friends. Here it is a safe place, where they can be in their own atmosphere with children who understand them.”
She remembers that in the beginning, the children used to draw the war. But gradually, over time, their drawings changed.
“Now the kids want to draw something sunny.”
Anastasia often thinks back to their happy life before the war in Odesa – the time spent with friends and family, everyone together. Now, she says, “Everyone is scattered in different countries.” She hasn’t seen her mother, father, and two brothers for three years. With both sadness and warmth, she recalls how the whole family used to gather every week in her parents’ home.
Until the war ends, Anastasia cannot return to Odesa. She worries about her daughter’s future. “I have a small child, and I can’t risk going back.”
She believes these workshops are essential. “They help the children look for beauty even in this hopeless situation,” she says.
In 2024 alone, more than 12,000 children and 6,000 adults from Ukraine received psychological support from UNICEF and partners to cope with the trauma of war and start their lives over again.
“Now my daughter is happy,” Anastasia says with a smile. “I feel she is in the right place now. And here I am, starting a new life.”
In Varna, UNICEF and the Bulgarian Red Cross support more than 500 mothers with their young children to cope with emotional and mental trauma by providing a safe space and opportunities to build stronger connections with each other.
“Their eyes tell me how happy they are to come here.”
UNICEF in Bulgaria supports the provision of services and assistance for refugee and migrant children from Ukraine with the generous support of the USA Government.
