Keeping Faith on the Frontline with Mariia Korolchuk

Content Warning – This episode references Gender-Based Violence, including sexual abuse, as well as mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, and disordered eating. Please listen with care.

How has the war in Ukraine created a ‘gender crisis’ for Ukranian communities, both at home and those displaced around the world? What does it mean to keep faith in humanitarianism when a new political administration can transform the sector overnight? And what lessons can we learn about hope and resilience from the stories of women on the frontlines of the humanitarian response?

In this episode, we spoke to Mariia Korolchuk, who transitioned into the humanitarian sector after she was displaced to Romania from her home in Ukraine in 2022. Mariia, who now works as Vice President of the Malva Association – a hub for the Ukranian community in Bucharest – has worked for multiple NGOS over the last 3 years, with a particular focus on tackling gender-based violence and empowering women and girls. This is a raw, moving discussion of the realities of long-term conflict and displacement, as well as how women working on the frontlines of these crises continue to keep faith together.

• Cook Mariia's recipe for dranyki
• Find out more about how Mariia and her humanitarian colleagues are helping displaced Ukranian women access reproductive healthcare
• Read more about WIN's Food and Friendship project

Keeping Faith: A How-To Guide was created as part of Women’s Interfaith Network's 2024-2025 Keeping Faith Programme. Read more about the programme here and be the first to hear about upcoming events and ways to get involved by signing up to our newsletter. Views expressed on this podcast are the speaker’s own and may not reflect the views of Women’s Interfaith Network.

Hosted by Maeve Carlin

Produced by Maeve Carlin and Adam Brichto

Edited by Adam Brichto

Executive Produced by Lady Gilda Levy

Theme music composed by Jamie Payne

Logo and Artwork designed by Jasey Finesilver

Support from Tara Corry

Transcript

Maeve Carlin: 

Welcome to Keeping Faith, a how to guide, a new podcast from Women’s Interfaith Network exploring how women keep faith in ourselves, in each other, in a cause, or in religious faith so you can learn how to keep faith too.

I’m your host Maeve Carlin and today we’re back with a conversation with humanitarian worker Mariia Korolchuk, who entered the aid sector after being displaced to Romania from her home in Ukraine in 2022. Mariia has worked with a number of NGOs over the last few years, with a particular focus on gender- based violence and amplifying the voices of women and girls, and is now vice president of the Malva Association, a hub for the Ukranian community in Bucharest. 

In this episode, Mariia shares her journey into humanitarian work, the ‘gender crisis’ that faces Ukranians both at home and those now displaced around Europe as well as what she describes as the ‘shattering’ of her sector after January’s sweeping cuts to USAID. She also reflects on the power of a home-cooked meal when far from home and how she and her colleagues keep faith together through dark times. 

This episode is a raw conversation about the realities of long-term humanitarian crisis, including the knock-on effect on gender-based violence and mental health. So please listen with care. 

And now, let’s jump into our conversation with Mariia Korolchuk. 

Well, Maria, welcome to the podcast. 

Mariia Korolchuk: Thank you so much for having me. 

Maeve Carlin: I'd love to start by hearing more about your journey into the humanitarian space, which I know is tied to your journey of being displaced from Ukraine to Romania after the start of the war in 2022. Can you share what those first few months were like for you and how you found your way into this work?

Mariia Korolchuk: Of course. So now, in a way, it's more popular to say that the war, the full scale invasion between Russia and uh Ukraine didn't start in 2022, but it's back in 2013. But as I was this person who lived in the southern parts of Ukraine, somehow the war seemed very far away, up until February 2022.

And that's when I was amidst the many people, all Ukrainians, who actually felt and understood what war means in reality. Because before, I can tell you the truth, we weren't even very nice to internally displaced people, our own fellow Ukrainians. And when you suddenly overnight lose everything, well, for some it's more than for others in a way - I'm talking about losing a job, losing a house, losing a loved one - your mentality and your mindset changes.

So in on February 2022, I was actually abroad with two of my children out of three, with my twins. And my younger child stayed in Ukraine. So when everybody was trying to get out of Ukraine, I tried to actually get in to be reunited with my younger child.

And nobody believed it's going to last for very long. So the first month I held tight with my family in Ukraine. But then for, and for the sake of for my children and their future, we decided to move abroad because my twins are professional athletes. And it's difficult when you are moving to another country that you have no idea about because thanks to certain disinformation campaigns, thanks to the, in a way a cold war that's still going on between two fronts, Ukrainians didn't know much about Romanians, even though they were, um always our neighbours. 

So you move to another country, you are now not even an internally displaced. You're refugee, you don’t know much of your rights. Uh, you see these language barriers, communication barriers. You see, uh, problems that people encounter with documents, with finding shelter. And you're a bit lost. Plus you have no income because most of the time you lose your jobs. Not many had the possibility to work, um, online, for example, or even the technology. I mean, people lost a lot of things on the way. 

So at this moment you rethink about everything. You realize, um, the humanitarian part of the humanitarian work, you realize how same these people are. But in my case, I was so restless because I had nothing to do, just to scroll the news. I was worried sick, money was running out, and I also felt like I was a traitor in a way because you fled from your country. Okay, people say you, you went to protect your children, their wellbeing. But, at that moment, it felt more like fleeing and betraying while the people who were braver, in a way, they stayed to protect their hometowns.

So when I got this possibility to help out one American NGO who were just coming in with the crisis, uh, response, I just took this opportunity because this was a way to give back to the community of the Ukrainians who were now displaced in Romania. It was a way to take the mind off things in my case, and a way to earn monies, and plus I felt that I'm doing something for my country, not being within my country.

So this was my entry point because before that I was a businesswoman and I was very, how can I say? I wouldn't say cold, but you know, I saw world in other shades, more like a black and white, while the humanitarian response teaches you to see the world with other shades. 

Maeve Carlin: Thank you so much for sharing that story with us, Maria, and ll the complex feelings that come with that journey and actually the sort of complete transformation of perspective as well as all other aspects of your life. And, as you say, it's really important to stress that displacement is not new for Ukrainians starting from 2022. This is something people have been dealing with internally for over a decade previously.

And you now wear many hats and are involved with lots of different NGOs. But a lot of your work focuses on women-led initiatives or responses to gender-based violence, which so often goes hand in hand with armed conflict, mass displacement and humanitarian crises. What have you learned over the last three years doing this work, and why do you think women-led responses to these issues are so crucial?

Mariia Korolchuk: So, as you well know, uh, this crisis response is different from any other before that due to the fact that, especially the first year, more than 90% of all the refugees around the world were women and children. It was something unaccounted for uh, if you compare with other, uh, refugee crisis. And actually in a way, I would say the world wasn't prepared for such a gender crisis.

So when we talk about women in context of gender, sadly, uh, social roles, they play a certain role in terms of what to propose to women, how to help them. I'm saying that Ukraine, as a post-Soviet country, always had this idea that females should stay home with the children while the male is the provider. And suddenly overnight everything changed. 

The males remained in Ukraine and had other responsibility and duties and we were just put inside this 'World War' times when women had to become providers, take care of the children, try to integrate into another society from scratch, and kind of remain human at the same time.

And if we're even looking at the support that was given initially, nobody took into consideration that now a woman has to take care, not only for herself, but also to provide for her children. And I'm saying children in multiple form because traditionally Ukraine families have two and more children. And plus the elderly were also fled the countries, right?

So we have this one woman who has to provide for quite a lot of people, but the jobs that are being offered in the context of integration are actually low paid. And Ukraine was always considered a third world country. A diploma is not recognized within the EU system, for the majority of its parts.

And, um, it was even with the help that was given, not during the even the first year, but we're talking about integration, the second year, it wasn't enough. And I believe that one of the solutions that should have been sought for at the beginning was to actually ask the refugees what is needed. Because, the first year of the response, there was so much funding. There were so many project that, in a way, the NGOs in Europe were not prepared to have so much money to spend because we all know that funding comes with certain strings attached. But nobody asked the refugees what was actually needed.

Then when there was more of this focus on integration, the funding became less and still the decision makers were mostly males who couldn't see things from the female perspective, who didn't understand in a way the importance of, let's say the priorities that come with being a mother. You cannot work and be a mother full-time now that you are a single parent. In many countries in Europe, there is a law. You cannot leave your child alone home and go to work. Right? But what should you do if the kindergartens do not accept the children, or the educational system doesn't accept it?

So you run into these bureaucratic formalities, which seem so small, but actually they have strings attached. And then you cannot work. If you cannot work, you cannot become a provider. So I'm saying that, I wouldn't blame, I mean, I'm not a sexist in a way. I'm sorry, but if there were more decision makers who were female, who would point out these small things that actually, you know, the whole picture? It is composed from these small things, right? The response could have been better.

Me? I'm a mother. I'm a woman. I was the sole provider for not only my family, but I also helped a network of other females as I was one of the only one within my circle who spoke a foreign language. And we decided to live in a small community where females who could actually work would go to work and work multiple jobs, while the females who had this language barrier would stay at home and take care of the children. And we hoped that the social services would never find out that our children are left unattended for, because the fathers are mostly in Ukraine without a possibility to leave the country.

So in a way, they're trapped. I know it sounds bad, but that's the way it was. Males feel trapped. Plus they're depressed because they feel trapped. They feel they have no choice. Females who are supposed to be depressed cannot be because they have so much problems to deal for. And plus navigating in a foreign country, you have to leave your children unattended for in order to actually have something, some money to buy the food. Because not all states in the EU offered good financial support, which in a way it's not their problem. I understand this. But nobody from the decision makers looked at the whole picture. Yes, there was financial aid. Yes, there was some governmental support. Yes, there were efforts from the government with the integration, but it was just a tick.

So when second year into the war, females started to actually get together to form female-led initiatives. They first, uh, became, uh, self-organized groups. Later they realized that, in order to have their projects that would actually benefit the communities that are displaced abroad, they had to become legal entities, right? So it was the whole process. First year people were just waiting for something. The second year, it was self-organized group that decided to become legal. And only on the third year, with all the experience that these female led initiatives had in the field of the humanitarian work with the new obtained contacts, could you actually start doing some good.

And for the first time, females actually had some voice in the state because they went through all this journey. And even though, when you look, uh, at certain open position in the humanitarian field, there's always requirements saying at least five, six years experience. But believe me, this accelerated experience that the females that were displaced got and how they were in the midst of this crisis, you know, one year goes for three. 

Maeve Carlin: Yeah, I, I think you've really captured the importance of by and for services there. You know, women leading organizations for other women, it's so critical. We see each other and therefore we understand each other in a different way. Or we can have that perspective of, have people thought about this? Have people asked about this?

Mariia Korolchuk: Here I would like to add one more thing. Cause what I said was mostly emotional but now let's get practical. I'm a woman. I have my hormonal cycles. When I came to Romania, I was seeking for help. I didn't have enough time in a way to pack properly. Right? And then I heard that there's a possibility to receive some aid, but you know, every woman has different preferences. 

Of course, you cannot choose as a refugee, but for example, I cannot tolerate pads. Yes? I'm more of a tampon person. Tampons aren't, uh, certified as, um, an extra instrument to be given out as, uh, uh, in kind help, right? So I couldn't find anything to help me with this or, uh, there were females who needed, um, let's say gynecological help at the very beginning, especially those who came, um, from areas that were quickly occupied in Ukraine. But the Doctors Without Borders and all of this came a bit later and thank God, I was, for example, in Romania. There are countries who have strict abortion rules. And even though these women were violated, uh, they were forced into intimate relationships they didn't want to, they couldn't receive certain preventionhelp that due to the restrictions and the legal restriction of the country that, uh, received those, uh, displaced women.

And if we're talking about feeding mothers, not all formula was there, especially considering that each child may have different, uh, specific needs if we're talking about being allergic to certain things. So on the one hand, you walk inside all these hubs that are providing humanitarian help and there is huge amount of food, of diapers, of towels, of clothes. So there is a huge amount of money that was spent. But on the other hand, it is not exactly what was needed, and this is why at a certain point you saw a surplus. You saw a surplus of food that was never given out because it was allergenic for example, or the organization that did this didn't quite fit with the criteria of, uh, the Ukrainians who were coming, uh, inside the country.

So everything was a bit off, and it was a huge shame because you understand the funding behind it, the heart behind this, right? But just because it wasn't focused on a way, on this, um, on the gender, being focused on the children, it didn't quite work out. 

Maeve Carlin: And I think it's so important to, to, as you say, be practical and to remember that women's bodies are on the front line of, of every conflict, even if they're not fighting.

And these same issues around access to period products, access to reproductive healthcare. We see the same issues in Ukraine, in Gaza, in Sudan. It’s characteristic of every conflict. And it's so important that we, we call it what it is and we name it. So thank you.

Just over a year ago, we recorded an episode on keeping faith in humanitarianism with Sandrine Tiller from Doctors Without Borders, where we discussed the politicization of aid and how this impacts responses to migrants and refugees around the world.

In recent months, with administration changes and drastic cuts to USAID, the aid sector feels more politicized than ever. Can you share how you and your colleagues have been impacted by these global political shifts and what it's like to keep faith in humanitarian work in the current climate? 

Mariia Korolchuk: So everything shattered. I cannot find a better word, but to say it shattered, um, in January. Uh, it shattered on many different levels.

First level, your faith, like you say, your faith in the good in the world. That there was at least a sector that took care of people regardless of their origin, their ethnicity, their race. It became unimportant.

Uh, the second thing, um. There were all these people who were helping the humanitarian workers and suddenly they became not necessary for the countries that they belonged. So for the sector, they became completely unnecessary.

Third, there were so many projects that were really good. They were interesting, they were helpful, they were groundbreaking in some ways. And suddenly the next day after Trump's administration, they signed the documents to cut the USAID. All these projects became absolutely not important, not groundbreaking, like it seemed in a way that you worked for a sham enterprise. Okay?

But I think even worse was that nobody was communicating anything. So I worked for, um, an organization who received funding from the US government, and we were trying to understand if our project was frozen, if there would be a possibility to renew it, to actually receive some clarifications. But what we believe happened was that, in one day, some forces swooped in to these, uh, governmental bodies who were responsible for the humanitarian sectors and just freed everybody from work because there wasn't even a single contact who could answer to our emails.

So sitting in Romania, our small team didn't understand if we have still a job, if we need to continue our duties and helping our beneficiaries, if everything was frozen or if it were to be renewed. Nothing. We didn't understand anything and there was nobody who could answer these questions. This is like in one moment there wasn't a single person who could clarify this matter. Which is tragic because we are just an example of one small department in one country. I'm talking about all the humanitarian workers who were facing the same thing, living in different conditions on different continents. And I can imagine their, um, their shock and confusion.

And then in February, when everybody realized around the sector that it's not going to change, suddenly we are facing with a huge unemployment in this sphere. Um, we are also facing with this confusion coming from the beneficiaries who were receiving this aid. We're talking about medical, educational, even in terms of genders. How many countries were, where women finally started to feel empowered, started to receive education, started to understand how to live a better life? Suddenly they were told that they cannot be helped anymore. So the impact of just one signature on the continent far away was huge across the whole sector.

And you asked how to keep faith. Well, after all, it's called humanitarian aid, right? So we're going to take the human out of the word humanitarian. I can tell you that, despite the fact that a lot of things collapsed, projects stopped going, but the ties and the community, the humanitarian community, they still stay in touch. They try to do something as self-led organizations once more, maybe it's just self-led initiatives, right? Where everybody kind of volunteers. 

So we're back to the beginning, I think, of this humanitarian sphere where, and in the beginning, everybody who had a heart, who had a certain vision, who wanted to help, just did it. You know, continue to do and to help, and to give their input in any way possible. Because just, just because somebody said, "we're not doing this anymore", doesn't mean that the person behind the project who was communicating with the beneficiaries, was in contact with them every day and saw their progress, depending on the project, would suddenly say, "oh, by the way, my shift is over. I'm not helping you anymore." It doesn't happen like this. Right?

You still continue to be a human despite the burnout, despite anything. Because in the darkest of times, in a way, this small light, this faith, this, um, is your guide, you know, to get out of the very rock bottom that you hit just because you believe in humans and in their rightful intentions. 

Maeve Carlin: Yes. Thank you for putting that so beautifully. I know that you and everybody I know in the humanitarian space has been in a sort of constant state of grief since January, as you put it. I think the word you said "shattered" is how I would describe it. But that light is still there. You know, all these amazing people who've been working in the sector, they haven't gone away. They're still there.

Um, and you spoke about burnout there. In that same episode with Sandrine we talked about compassion fatigue: where people feel so paralyzed by the level of need -with multiple regions in crisis at the same time, no end in sight- that they disconnect, whether that's disconnecting emotionally or disengaging with news updates and humanitarian efforts.

Is that something you are seeing, whether in responses to Ukraine or more broadly, and how do you try to combat this? 

Mariia Korolchuk: I think this question is closely linked in a way with the previous one because you mentioned politicizing. This shattering and this burnout comes from helplessness in a way because these structures and, and huge organization, international ones, which are supposed to be helping have become in a way so politicized that they paralyze any initiative that is worth looking into.

So on the one hand, there was grief and like the shattering feeling that everything collapsed. But on the other hand, it was this, uh, relief from certain shackles because when you don't, I wouldn't say trust, trust is a bad word. If you realize that you are not receiving help and you will not receive help anymore from a certain body, due to many reasons, this relieves you of any expectations. And you take in a way, matter in your own hands and you realize that one door closes, another one opens. So if that entity will no longer help, then you have to rely on yourself and your network that you had the opportunity to work with, to continue doing the good you did before, like with no expectations, no string attached. And you are building something new. Something that in a way is stronger because there is no politicization behind it.

And regarding burnout, indeed, um, if we talk about the Ukrainian crisis response, I think the most difficult part, uh. No, it not the most difficult. I keep saying the most, not the most. There were many stages.

So let's say the first year people were just frozen. They were expecting something. Expecting something to, you know, to come up to finish this war. And if they wait, they had this feeling that if they waited long enough, like within a year there would be some decision. Okay. It didn't happen.

The second year, europe was in preparation for elections of different levels. We're talking about politics. And sadly, this was the year when there was a huge launch of propaganda coming from the Russian Federation. And everybody, the refugees at least, understood the impact of these elections, uh, on them because, uh, it's their stay in Europe, it's their permission to work for some it's governmental aid and help for some countries, right?

So suddenly all these countries who yesterday and, uh, the, um, the civilians of this country were so happy to help you, after hearing certain “news”, you know, disinformation, they suddenly started to voice the scripts coming from the Russian Federation. And you also feel very confused, right? Because you seem to be, for example, working, bringing taxes, worried sick for your family back at home. And a place that was safe for you yesterday stopped being so. And this anger, this helplessness always causes, also causes the burnout.

And I call this now the third stage, the thawing. So we're three years in. People already thawed. So they unfroze, they realized they need to make a certain decision. They saw the collapse, they witnessed the collapse of the humanitarian sector. And those who are still helping, they're now once more back into this adrenaline mode to keep things going. Not to give up despite everything.

But at the same hand, when, when there is a moment to contemplate, the people from the humanitarian sector as well as the displaced persons, they just collapse. Because once, when you keep going, when you keep implementing different projects, you keep making certain efforts to integrate and it's continuous journey without stop, it helps you cope with many things. But once there is a pause, you collapse. And with this thawing, in a way, came the realization that certain difficult decisions are to be made. And this also is a huge weight, a huge load on your shoulders. 

How to cope with the burnout? Well, for the past three years, maybe the only good thing that came out of this war, apart from the females being more empowered is this community feeling. Now this you only see outside of Ukraine. Sadly, those who stayed in Ukraine still react very badly even towards the internal displaced. They don't still have this community feeling, unlike the refugees abroad, where the community did a lot.

So this support - when one collapses, the other one kind of lifts you up - is what keeps people going. If we're talking about Bucharest and our small circle of females who are trying to still continue with the humanitarian work, we have this rule that we don't collapse at one time. Like one by one, each has a panic attack or a burnout or a depression. The others help lift that person up. Then the next one collapses. You know, it's like a chain. The rule is never at the same time. 

Maeve Carlin: Yeah. I think that you put that so beautifully there and you know, helplessness is a luxury really, isn't it? It's not something we can afford in a crisis. But it's also very human. And that idea of you all keeping faith together as a community and lifting each other up, knowing that you will be lifted up when it's your turn.

Mariia Korolchuk: And also you're saying it's a commodity, the helplessness. And here I can share with you something personal. I have this huge anger in me because I have seen and witnessed how males, Ukrainian males, are depressed. They're depressed from the first days of war because the responsibility that was put upon their shoulders is just huge. Not everybody is built for fight. Not everybody was wanted such a future. Nobody wants such a future, right, for themselves. So they were depressed.

But the females who were both, who are both now in Ukraine and those who left, didn't have this commodity to feel depressed, even though they were supposed to. But somebody had to take care of the kids, of themselves. Many males lost their jobs so they couldn't help and provide. So the female had to take care of their men inside of Ukraine. So basically, you have a budget to live outside the country, you have the money you have to send back in Ukraine.

So women didn't have time to feel helpless and depressed because, you know, first comes the children, even though they say you should put mask on yourself first. No, it didn't work that way. All the women, at least with whom I worked, always thought about their children first. It was the education, it was shelter, it was food, then it was their husbands, and then only it was themselves. Right?

And I have this anger that I didn't have the commodity to be frozen or depressed. And that whenever I visited any conference, you know, I would hear about how helpless the females are, how the only jobs that could be offered to Ukrainian women are in the beauty sphere because they're not educated, when in reality I saw how strong the women are. And I think this anger still still hasn't quite left me, especially when you hear some decision-makers kind of falling down on the woman saying they cannot provide some good intel or their opinions don't in a way matter as much because they're not rational when they're thinking. What I witnessed is such a huge female empowerment that, you know, you can write history books about it.

Am I belittling men? No, because once more, nobody wants to be in their shoes. This war is a huge gender crisis for both sides. For females who went through a lot, uh, when they were under occupation, for example, uh, from the aggressor, whether it was also moving to another country or moving within the country to another town to start over. Right?

But also the males, it's also a gender crisis. They're trapped. They cannot have a choice to move, to stay, to work where they want to, because any day they can receive a notice that they have to go - unprepared, mentally, morally - to the front, and you never know where exactly. So it's, it's just an overall gender trap and that nobody quite knows how to help and deal with.

Maeve Carlin: Absolutely. I think yeah, you've really captured that there. Gender Crisis I think is such a good way of putting it. And yes, those of us who work in the women's sector like myself and like yourself, i've never seen a more rational group of people than women responding to a crisis in their community.

Being empathetic and embedded in your community does not make you less rational or less resilient. I would argue quite the opposite. And I'm sure that's what you've seen as well. 

Mariia Korolchuk: Exactly. Emotion is what actually guides you. It doesn't have to be always, I'm not talking about negative emotions. No. Women are so rational all the time, and through their empathy, they can actually, without any additional cost to any project, they can make that project better just by looking at things from another perspective, another angle, right?

So this empathy is a huge plus. If more people were empathetic, you know, I think the world would be a better place. It's not always about rationality. Sometimes it's about this 1% of empathy that makes a difference. 

Maeve Carlin: I couldn't agree more. And to take a slight left turn here, something that really resonates with us at WIN and something that I've heard you speak about before is how this idea of home cooking and comfort food takes on a totally new meaning when you’re displaced from home.

We, at WIN, we have a shared meal project called Food and Friendship that we launched to connect our interfaith community with migrants and refugees, but food is already such a huge part of interfaith work. Even just sharing a cup of tea and a biscuit with someone can be a way of reaching out and starting to build a connection.

So I'd love to hear, what does it mean to you to cook and share Ukrainian food from your new home in Romania? 

Mariia Korolchuk: I would say that food is a game changer in any humanitarian response because, even if there is a language barrier, using food as a tool, you can communicate so much. You can communicate your empathy, you can communicate your kindness, you can communicate your shared experiences. And you can communicate the sense of home, especially if it's warm food, right?

Because in, in the 21st century, we're so used to such commodities as prepackaged food, as microwave food, as something congealated that when you are feeling really bad - for various reason - and somebody reaches out and gives you something warm, comforting. And comfort food, it kind of, uh, heats and warms you up from the inside. It's like if you imagine a picture like you are this ice cube, then suddenly something, you know, inside starts to warm up and then you become this fluffy and plushy person and it brings a smile to the face. There's nothing better than warm home cooked meal.

And apart from that, when you move to another country that has different culinary traditions, where thevegetables, they don't taste the same. Like nothing tastes the same. Right? In my case, I developed a huge food disorder the first year I was in Romania. Just because I couldn't accept my circumstances. I couldn't accept the food of the country that was receiving me. Right? So the only time I felt actually well was when I cooked my own homemade meals.

And when your friends also share food with you and they cook with their soul, it actually makes you feel for a moment that life isn't so dark, isn't so bad. I also worked with a lot of African refugees and migrants. For them, food is also another meaning, it's a connection to their homeland. It's this community. It's a safe haven in the midst of the storm where, for a moment, you can transition back to a period when you felt safe, when you felt well in your own skin, when you were amidst all your friends, your families.

So it brings back these memories that you try to push back because, in a way, you want to realize where you are in and you're pushing back everything good because sometimes memories, they make you sad, they make you cry. But not everybody understand that these good memories actually make you stronger to continue. They give you hope for the next day.

So food, especially the food that is your cultural food, it is bonding. This sharing is you are sharing this small light around and you're giving hope, and you're giving haven to another person. It's not only about you at this moment, it's about the circle that you surround yourself with. And why not share the kindness? What do people only share gossip and bad things? You know, better share some kindness, some food, some warmth, because without speaking, without any barrier whatsoever, you are already showing a very good attitude towards another person. You're showing this empathy. 

Maeve Carlin: I couldn't agree with you more. I mean, we say this all the time at WIN. Like food is not just food. Food is connection. Food is identity. Food is belonging. Food is welcome. You're saying, "Welcome. Come sit with me. Come eat with me. Come share in this part of my culture, my home." It couldn't be more fundamental, I think, to connecting communities and also coping and, as you say, a haven in this time of upheaval and change.

Mariia Korolchuk: Just one last comment to the food is that most of the time food is actually not expensive. I mean, the comfort food you need, it doesn't cost much. So it doesn't cost much to make another person happy. It doesn't cost much to give the safety, this feeling of safety to another person.

Somehow, when you talk in humanitarian spoons, uh, response, the food, all the questions regard food, people always say, "oh, it's so expensive, nobody's gonna take it." But actually it's not so expensive and it's something that makes the other person, uh, feel safe. 

Maeve Carlin: Exactly. t's impossible to have this conversation without thinking about, of course, the famine and food poverty that so many people in conflict zones and humanitarian crisis zones experience. And I don't want it to sound as if we're not holding that in our hearts, 'cause I know we both absolutely are.

Well Maria, this has been such a special conversation. I just have one last question.

We're in a moment right now where many of us are struggling to keep faith, whether it's in a sustainable future for the humanitarian sector or in lasting peace in regions where conflict now feels so entrenched. Can you give us an example of a time where your work has restored your faith and what you would say to someone listening who's struggling to hold onto theirs?

Mariia Korolchuk: Examples from work is when you see a smile from a person who didn't smile for a very long time after certain projects that you implemented and helped do. When you go to areas that have problem with access to not only food, but even to water, and then you bring this water to people who have been waiting for this for ages, and you see this relief, you see this smile, you make their day. And I'm talking about bare necessities.

I can also talk about the excitement you feel when your students start speaking another language. And they say that they received a job offer that they wouldn't have dreamed of six months ago just because they stuck to a certain humanitarian project, they receive certain knowledge and now can make their life better.

Or when you can see that the child has integrated so well and is now the top student in some school, a child nobody really believed in, apart from a small group of humanitarians who actually poured their heart inside. So in a way, this smile, this gratitude. It's not a gratitude to you, it's just the smile and the feeling that a person made it despite, despite these circumstances.

So these are the small things. So their smile kind of revives your soul as well. And you believe that you should continue for these small moments. For these, they're very fleeting, but these small moments make the whole change because out of small things, you know, step by step and just like a pebble by pebble, you get this big picture in the future. And without those small things that you never knew would exist like in a certain period of time, you wouldn't receive certain results in the future.

So answering globally your question, if you keep faith in people and humanity in their human emotions, you can continue going despite everything. And all bad things have a beginning and an end. Even a war, each war, each crisis. It has a beginning and an end. Yes, some take a long time to resolve, others less. There's always a beginning and an end. And you should understand that you cannot just be frozen. You must continue and seek for those small moments of happiness and collect the small achievements because, in sometime, the small achievements, when you collect them all together, give you a grand picture and a better future.

Maeve Carlin: Maria, this has been such a moving, special conversation. I'm so grateful for you making the time. 

Mariia Korolchuk: It was my pleasure as well. 

We are so grateful to Mariia for her frankness and her generosity in sharing her reflections with us at this critical moment for the humanitarian sector. You can find out more about Mariia’s work - and her home-cooking! – via the links in our shownotes.

We have exciting updates about the next phase of Women’s Interfaith Network’s Keeping Faith Programme coming very soon, so keep an eye on this podcast feed and on our social media. 

Thank you for listening to this episode of Keeping Faith: A How To Guide. Subscribe now on your podcast app to be the first to hear about our upcoming episodes, and please leave a review or share with a friend to help more people find us. To find out more about the podcast, the next phase of the Keeping Faith Programme or to get involved with the Women’s Interfaith Network, you can follow the links in our episode notes or go to www.wominet.org.uk. Until next time, Keep Faith!

Keeping Faith: A How-To Guide was created by Women’s Interfaith Network. The podcast is co-produced by me, Maeve Carlin, and Adam Brichto. Our executive producer is Lady Gilda Levy. Theme music was composed by Jamie Payne and our logo was designed by Jasey Finesilver. Additional Support from Tara Corry.