“Here, help is not just words. It’s real” – Galina’s story

Your generosity helped Galina*, a mother and a survivor of intimate partner violence, bring strength and stability back to family. This is her story.

For years, Galina was desperate to escape her abusive marriage. But she knew that if she left with nowhere to go, her son Ivan* would be at risk of being sent to an orphanage.

But thanks to the pioneering family support services we’ve developed in Ukraine, Galina and Ivan were given the temporary safe haven they needed to make a fresh start and specialist support to rebuild their life together.

Galina’s story

For years, Galina was trapped in an abusive marriage.

“I had violence in my home,” she told us, “I didn’t feel like a person. So, I wanted to save our family but we fought all the time, and I didn’t know what to do. I thought about taking my life”. She knew that if she left with nowhere to live, Ivan and her older son, Roman*, might both be taken from her and sent to live in an orphanage with no one to love or protect them.

“I had violence in my home. I didn’t feel like a person.”

Refusing to be separated from her boys, she stayed put.

Over time, Galina witnessed the impact the violence was having on her children.

“The boys were beginning to imitate their father’s behaviour. They treated me as if I wasn’t human.”

That was the final straw. Galina knew she needed out. But she had nowhere to go.

Reaching out

Eventually, Galina called social services and asked for help. Thankfully, they referred her to one of our Family Support Centres.

Our Family Support Centres were developed in partnership with the local authorities in Ukraine. They’re designed to be a net for families at risk of falling through the cracks – protecting any children from being sent to an orphanage.

Twenty-four hours after arriving at our centre, we brought Galina, Ivan and Roman to stay in the Centre’s Mother and Baby Unit. This was the lifeline Galina had been praying for. Now, she had somewhere safe to stay with her children while she worked out what to do next.

Healing

As well as a comfortable room of their own and access to a shared kitchen, bathroom and living facilities, Galina and the boys received counselling to help them overcome the trauma they’d experienced and improve their relationships with one another.

“Now they hug and kiss me. We can talk together and discuss problems. We have started to learn English together”

Galina says she was scared when her husband discovered where she was and tried to see her. But staff at the Centre reassured her that she was safe and helped her find the courage to stick by her decision. Now, she says she feels much stronger. She has divorced her husband, and he must pay maintenance for the boys.

Looking to the future

Now, Galina works long hours in a factory that makes train wheels. She wishes she had more time to spend with her sons, but her job means she has been able to take a loan to buy a small flat. Staff at the Family Centre have helped to raise funds to pay for the property to be refurbished. With that added support, Galina was able to build a new beginning for her boys.

“I feel more positive now,” Galina says with a big smile, adding “I will be grateful all my life for the help I’ve been given. Here help is not just words. It’s real”.

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* Names changed to protect identities.