Rebuilding lives in war-torn Ukraine: The critical role of mobile teams for displaced families

When the war reached Kharkiv Oblast, Victoria Ostapyuk and her daughter Eva relocated to the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. They have been residing in a collective center in Lviv, where they share a living space with hundreds of other families. Victoria discusses the difficulties of being an internally displaced single mother; the impact of conflict on her and her daughter's mental health; and the vital assistance she received from a mobile team led by World Vision's local partner "Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health". The multidisciplinary mobile team consists of a psychologist, a lawyer, and a social worker, supporting approximately thirty families every day. Oleksandra, a child psychologist, is one of the mobile team members. She became Victoria's counsellor. According to the displaced mother, her sessions with Oleksandra were critical to her mental health and well-being, and ultimately enabled her to see "the world was full of colors again." This project was made possible through the support of USAID's Bureau for Humanitarian Assistance, Acted Ukraine, and the #UkraineResponseConsortium.