Tetiana Rostovska, 30, is the head of the department on prevention of gender-based violence at “Rokada”

“If you compare me before and after the 2022 invasion, I surprisingly feel much stronger professionally,” says Tetiana, “I had a serious post-crisis growth when the first shock and stress passed.”

Tetiana was in Kyiv when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022. She lived on the twentieth floor of a high-rise building with her husband and five cats. With missiles falling over her city, she knew she had to leave. 

In her temporary shelter in Western Ukraine, Tetiana had no connection – and almost no hope. She felt like she’d never return home and never see the things she left behind.

But when the area around Kyiv became more secure, she felt like her energy was coming back. She decided to return to Kyiv – and use all her expertise to help those who lived through occupation and displacement. 

“I had a moral inner calling,” she recalls.

After joining Rokada, Tetiana has been working on preventing gender-based violence – and supporting both internally displaced people and other vulnerable groups. 

“I am very impressed by being able to work in close proximity to community members    and the direct opportunity to work with the most vulnerable groups,” she says, “Oxfam allowed us to focus not only on internally displaced persons, but on the affected population in general, on women in rural areas, on youth.”