More News
When 20-year-old Yaryna fled Ukraine in February 2022, driving her sister and family friends to Poland over three days in frigid temperatures, she had one goal: To bring everyone safely across the border. She did not know that her intense focus on that goal would be the first step to a debilitating burnout that threatened her own health and safety.
Once in Poland, Yaryna moved in with a relative and, within a day, had a full schedule of duties, including volunteer shifts at Salam Lab, an Americares partner that serves as an intervention, information and service center, providing practical help and psychological counseling to thousands of refugees. Yaryna was often the first contact for many refugees who had escaped war and violence. “I listened to these terrible stories of people who fled the country,” she says. “For many, I was the only person who spoke Ukrainian and could help them arrange a doctor’s appointment, find accommodation or help in other ways. They used to call me very often, even at night.”
“I felt I had a duty to support them, I felt responsible for them. I wanted to do it.”Yaryna
“I felt I had a duty to support them, I felt responsible for them. I wanted to do it.”
She often worked 12-hour shifts.
School continued, too: Yaryna was writing her master’s thesis under pressure to hand it in July. “My [advisor] said a sentence that got right into my head: ‘If you want to help your country, you have to finish your studies,’” she says.
But responding to everyone’s needs but her own took a toll. First, Yaryna suffered ear infections, flu and exhaustion. At Salam Lab, psychologist Yulia saw what was happening and asked Yaryna to take a break, but the young woman refused. “Many volunteers do not feel their personal boundaries; they are ready to work beyond limits. This is destructive help,” says Yulia, who also fled Ukraine and works at Salam lab counseling refugees and, through video chats, women in Ukraine. Then, in July, Yaryna lost her voice and finally sought the help she needed from a source at hand – Yulia.
Now, a year after fleeing Ukraine, Yaryna meditates and is learning to recognize her feelings as they arise. She is rediscovering the joyful, playful part of herself and can separate Yaryna the refugee and volunteer from Yaryna the young woman. “Without Yulia’s support, I would not have survived,” she says. “And my story has a happy ending: even in a situation when you think everything is over – with the psychologist’s support, you can get out of it.”
Yaryna is volunteering in Krakow’s schools to share her experience with students. “I always recommend them to enjoy being teenagers safely living their childhood,” she says, remembering her drive to safety. “Appreciate not having to grow up in one day.”
READ MORE about our work in Poland and Ukraine.
Recent News
April 12, 2024
Stamford, Conn. – April 12, 2024 – The 2024 Americares Airlift Benefit hosted by award-winning actor and producer Bryan Cranston raised $1.9 million to improve health worldwide.
April 05, 2024
In Gaza, even newborn babies have little chance for a healthy life. While normally, new mothers would be discharged from the hospital with formula and diapers
April 02, 2024
April 2, 2024 We are devastated and heartbroken for the families, friends and colleagues of the World Central Kitchen aid workers who were killed while selflessly working to alleviate suffering in Gaza.
March 21, 2024
Stamford, Conn. – March 21, 2024 – Award-winning actor and producer Bryan Cranston—best known for his iconic roles in “Malcolm in the Middle and “Breaking Bad”—will host the 2024 Americares Airlift Benefit on Thursday, April 11, in New York City.