“Nezlamna_Ya”: How Kherson IDPs created a space of strength for women in Radomyshl.

In Radomyshl, Zhytomyr region, the hub “Nezlamna_Ya” was born – a place where women who are going through war rebuild themselves, find support and strength to live on. The space, initiated by a team of NGOs founded by teachers from Kherson back in 2015, has now become a symbol of resilience and joint action.

One of the initiators of this hub is Liudmyla Absava, a teacher, public figure, and IDP. Her personal story is one of loss, pain, and superhuman strength.

“In 2022, we left the occupied Kherson. It seemed to me then that my whole life had remained there, under the russian flag, which I saw over Kakhovka on February 24,” Liudmyla recalls.

After the first weeks of shock, she still tried to stay at home because she was sure: the whole thing would last no more than a month. If only she knew then how wrong she was.

The resistance actions organised by the residents of Kherson were becoming increasingly dangerous. People were disappearing. Volunteers were taken to basements. One of Lyudmila’s close friends, an activist, went to a rally and was shot in the leg. Then it became clear that there was no more time to wait.

“We left in three cars,” says Liudmyla, “with our children, with a minimum of belongings, with a heart full of anxiety. It was only when we saw the Ukrainian flag at the checkpoint that we started to cry. We cried because we knew we were on free land.”

The most painful was the loss of her mother. The elderly woman stayed on the occupied left bank because she did not want to leave. Six months later, her mother died in the occupation. Liudmyla was unable to visit her grave.

“This is my unhealed wound. I believed that I would be able to return in a month, and then I would take her. But there was no time. And now I feel guilty. And bitterness,” she says.

Despite her personal loss, Liudmyla and her colleagues started to take action in the new city: They held dozens of meetings with women, sought support, and wrote grants. This is how the “Nezlamna_Ya” hub was born.

“It’s not just a place – it’s our soul,” says Liudmyla. The space brings together women from different regions of Ukraine, mostly IDPs, many of them older. Here they not only find support, but also have the opportunity to realise themselves. The hub hosts workshops, psychological trainings, and organises “Coffee with friends” meetings, a format that allows women to talk openly about their experiences and heal through words.

The social mini-coworking space provides access to computers, the Internet, and printing equipment, so women can work, write documents, or just study. According to the Swedish principle, everyone shares what they know. And next door is the volunteer headquarters. On Mondays, they sew for the military. “The most valuable thing we have done here is to unite the women’s community. They create here. They create themselves,” says Liudmyla.