Alona Korostelova is a case manager in the project “Strengthening access and service provision for SRH and GBV support among conflict-affected women and girls in eastern and southern Ukraine.” She has been with the NGO Girls for almost two years and, during that time, has held positions such as social worker, registrar, and lecturer on mine safety. Currently, it is in case management that Alona feels truly at home. We asked her about her daily work, challenges, most successful cases, and personal experience.
Awareness is the first step
"My work begins with the start of each case. I visit the community or city where the request originated, communicate with the program participant, and assess their needs and the assistance they require. I always emphasize that everything is confidential, i.e., everything said will be available only to me and my supervisor.
Then I act according to the requests. If the necessary services are not provided by the NGO Girls, I refer them to other organizations.
I regularly monitor each case. If the risk is not very high, I call the person every 10 days; if it is medium or higher, I call every 3-5 days. First of all, I check whether the person is safe, whether they have received the services, and whether they need any further support. This is how I work with each person. A case usually lasts 3 months; in severe cases, six months.”
Alona shares that the most important thing for participants is information, because many people are unaware not only of the current opportunities to receive assistance, but also of the signs of domestic violence and their rights. This is the main barrier to receiving assistance.
"The community often asks for help for a specific person or family. The community knows that this person needs something and knows that we work in this region and can help. The person themselves does not know that they are in difficult life situations or that they are facing GBV.
As mobile teams, safe space specialists, and case managers, our task is to tell people that such behavior is unacceptable. To explain what physical, psychological, economic, and sexual violence is. To describe the signs of each type so that people understand what is happening to them, do not remain silent, and seek support."
Alona notes that sometimes awareness alone is not enough. Many people are still convinced that violence should not be talked about, that it’s not right to “wash their dirty linen in public,” that it is a private matter for each family. This problem is particularly acute in small communities.
"And even if people see that something is wrong, everyone still stays at home. We tell them that this is wrong, that they need to call the police and react. If violence is happening in your family, seek help, pack your things, and leave, or make the abuser leave. Every person has the right to live a proper and healthy life. And no one can take their dreams, their peace of mind away from a person.”
Working with domestic violence every day is not easy because every story reminds us that violence is still a global problem for Ukrainian society. So we asked the case manager where she finds the strength to continue her work and how she takes care of her mental health after difficult days.
"As we were taught in case management training, we ‘put on a suit’ at work. I work every day in this ‘suit’. Despite my concerns, I remain polite at work and am the person people turn to for advice. I don't have the right to be overly emotional with the people who come to us, to raise my voice or speak ill of them. I believe that if you can't cope with your emotions, you should leave the profession.
How do I take care of myself? I am the kind of person who always needs something new. Recently, I’ve been to the pool, gone to the lake, and ridden a quad bike. My child is studying to be an artist, so we painted pictures and embroidered together. I love flowers and gardening. I always need to be busy with something.
I am also constantly learning. I am currently taking driving lessons. Then, I think, I will start learning English. It helps me keep moving forward. As the philosopher said, the more I know, the more I realize that I know nothing. My goal in life is probably to gain as much knowledge as possible.”
Cases to be proud of
The work of each case manager involves dozens of people. Each case has its complexities and is unique in its own way, but there are always stories that are most impressive and memorable. So we asked Alona to share some of them.
"A man has recently come to me. He was in a very difficult situation as his daughter was very ill, his wife had died, and he was raising his grandson. I remember how difficult it was for him to do everything at first; even signing documents was a challenge.
But recently he told me, ‘I've moved. We've been living in one room since the war started, but now I've rented a three-room apartment. And it's inexpensive, too, considering the times we live in.’ He's so happy. Now he asks me for advice on household matters, and sometimes he just needs support with little things. And he is so pleased that I support him in all his endeavors.”
The case manager's work has become so intertwined with the woman's life that she is ready to provide assistance not only as a specialist but also in her personal life. Alona shared this story about her client with us. The woman already had six children, and during the birth of her seventh, she had a difficult delivery, complications arose, and she needed a blood transfusion. However, she had no friends or relatives in the city, so Alona decided to help and donated her blood. Her mother also supported the initiative.
Thanks to their donation, the woman was able to recover and leave the hospital healthy. Stories like this show that humanitarian workers consciously choose to devote their lives to helping others. It is not just a job for them, but an integral part of their lives and a true mission that they are ready to carry out every day.
“I guess you are born with this humanity, this desire to help. At least, I have been noticing this in myself all my life. I want to help the people I see around, even if it is just someone in the street who needs help. I am always ready to provide support and help to anyone who needs it, whether I am at work, on vacation, or just at home."
About life and work amid the full-scale war
In the context of humanitarian work in Ukraine, it is important to remember that each specialist has their own difficult experience. After all, we all live in the realities of full-scale war, which affects our state every day. Each person comes to humanitarian action by their own unique path.
Alona was born and currently lives in Kamianske, working with communities in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. She has always felt a calling to help others, so after obtaining her education as a music teacher, she only worked in her field for two years, teaching music to children in a department for children with disabilities. After that, she sought to fulfill herself in social work. She transferred to the position of head of the day care department at the same institution, then returned to the children's department as its head.
Alona was at work on February 24. She shares that she joined humanitarian activities immediately after the full-scale invasion began. In her position at the time, she helped with the resettlement of internally displaced persons, the accommodation of affected people, and organized the distribution of humanitarian aid. Then she realized that she wanted to develop her career in humanitarian action and eventually ended up on the team of the NGO Girls.
"I remember people running to the stores to buy food on the first day. There was panic, general hysteria. At that time, the head of our department took her child and left the country. Then I was offered that position. It was necessary to calm people down so that there would be no panic, and I was just the right person for the job, with 10 years of experience working in every department of the social services center. We immediately set up compact accommodation points for IDPs. People stayed with us for both short and long periods. I know that some people still live in the places we set up.
At that time, we were setting up places and encouraging various organizations to repair the premises. We found dishes and beds. Everything people needed to live. We did the repairs ourselves. I remember working without days off."
Alona is not going to leave her hometown. She worries about her family, but continues to work every day because she sees that people are finding it increasingly difficult to cope, and more and more people need support.
"We have lived fairly peacefully during these three years of war here, in Kamianske. But we do experience shelling. Just a few days ago, a hospital near the maternity ward was hit, and a pregnant woman was killed. There are wounded and dead. I am most afraid for my 12-year-old daughter. If I could, I would probably send her abroad. But I’m not going to move anywhere. My husband is in the military, so I want not only to be at home, but also to be as close to him as possible.
The military is fighting the war in their own way. And as humanitarian workers, we are also fighting the war in our own way. In two years, I have traveled around half of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. And if at the beginning of the full-scale war, 15-17 out of 20 people were healthy, now it may be only 3 people. They are beginning to lose faith in the end of the war, and everyone is in a difficult psychological state. And this affects their health. Some people have been able to come to terms with themselves, have decided to live out everything they had previously put off, and now they have become stronger. But for most, it is difficult.”
However, Alona has noticed some positive changes. For example, attitudes toward mental health. At the beginning of 2022, few people understood why it was important to seek psychological support, but now the number of requests has increased significantly. They want psychological support for themselves and their children. The stigma surrounding this issue has reduced. And this is a great achievement for humanitarian action.
Finally, we ask the woman to say what message she would like to convey to people who still do not dare to seek help.
“I would tell them that only they can live a happy life. And only they know what a happy life is. And if you are experiencing violence, you should not keep silent about it. You should come to us, and we will help you, guide you, and refer you. We will just listen if you need it. I really want every person to live their life correctly and sustainably.”
The assistance provided by the case manager and the preparation of the material were made possible within the project “Strengthening access and service provision for SRH and GBV support among conflict-affected women and girls in eastern and southern Ukraine” in collaboration with the international humanitarian organization CARE, with the support of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Germany.
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